On A Day Like Today... ~ FFIX Twisted
by Raidenshred
Summary: An alternate-reality re-telling of Final Fantasy IX. Zidane is the Angel of Death, and his love Queen Garnet is forced on a mission to save the world from the man she loves, accompanied by Beatrix, Ruby, Blank and Kuja, a mysterious assassin...
1. City Of Angels

"On A Day Like Today ****

"On A Day Like Today..."

FFIX TWISTED

By Darren Shier

Acknowledgment;

I wish to thank Tamerine, author of "FF7 Twisted" for her permission to use the game-twisting idea. Seeing as how it's been done for FFVI, FFVII and FFVIII, here's me doing it for FFIX. Here's hoping people will be able to 'collect the whole set'. =) Also, in keeping with the style of my other stories, I'm writing this one based around a central theme. For "The Omega" it was Family and for "The Best Of Both Worlds" it was Alternate Realities. This story is all about finding your place in the world, and understanding who you are and where you belong.

"He who overcomes will be dressed in white, and I will not take his name from the book of life; and I will give witness to his name before my Father, and before his Angels." - Revelations 3:5

**__**

"If all were so easy, why, none would suffer in the world." – Zidane Tribal

"On A Day Like Today..."

Free is all you gotta be  
Dream dreams no one else can see  
Sometimes you wanna run away  
But you never know what might be comin' round your way  
Yeah, yeah, yeah  
  
On a day like today  
The whole world could change  
The sun's gonna shine,  
Shine through the rain  
On a day like today  
You never wanna see the sun go down  
You never wanna see the sun go down  
  
Somewhere, there's a place for you  
I know that you believe it too   
Sometimes if you wanna get away  
All you gotta know is what we got is here to stay,  
All the way  
  
On a day like today - The whole world could change  
The sun's gonna shine - Shine through the rain  
On a day like today - No one complains  
We're free to be pure - Free to be sane  
On a day like today  
You never wanna see the sun go down  
You never wanna see the sun go down  
  
Free is all we gotta be  
Dream dreams no one else can see   
But you never know what might be comin' for you and me  
Yeah it's gotta be  
  
On a day like today - The whole world could change  
Yeah, the sun's gonna shine - Shine through the rain  
On a day like today - No one complains  
We're free to be pure - Free to be saved  
On a day like today  
You never wanna see the sun go down  


You never wanna see the sun go down...

Prologue; "The Perfect Storm"

Waves crashed against the boat, throwing the occupants around helplessly. Spray and foam washed over them, whilst stinging rain pelted them from all sides. A huge wave caught the tiny boat, almost literally a twig in a hurricane, lifting it right up out of the sea. It seemed to hang there for a brief instant, before crashing back down into the waves, and still the occupants hung on for dear life as once again the roaring waves pounded over them...

And Queen Garnet opened her eyes.

The images of wind, rain and waves that raced through her subconscious mind were once again, stilled. Almost completely forgotten, were it not for the rainstorm she could see washing itself against the castle windows. Sometimes she wondered about the images. Memories? A dream? Memories of a dream?

She sighed and rubbed the fatigue from her eyes, and walked over to the window. She opened the latches and pushed the glass frames open easily. The breeze was blowing from behind the castle, so the rain didn't fly directly at her. She looked out across the kingdom of Alexandria. Her kingdom, left to her by her recently deceased mother, the late Queen Brahne. Grey clouds blanketed the sky, blotting out the sun and providing the perfect mirror to the Mist that covered the lands beneath the cliffs of the Alexandria plateau. The sky was slowly but surely starting to clear, and the rain was easing up. Maybe the clouds would even finally part and there would be a fresh starry night tonight. Then she looked out over across the country, to where the neighboring kingdom of Lindblum was. The storm seemed to be at it's worst there. Thunder was too far away to be heard, but Garnet could see the lightning, both sheet and forked flashing the sky and stabbing the ground with it's reptile tongue. The country itself was shrouded in fog and the haze of rain in the distance could easily be made out. She hoped then that the theatre ship wouldn't have to cancel it's voyage on account of the storm.

She heard the door open behind her, and followed the clanking of armor. She didn't turn around. "Yes, Steiner?" she sighed. Adelbert Steiner stood bold and tall, a man proud of his place in life, with a belief in the hierarchy of nobles over commoners that was so firm it was often likened to the iron rod palace staff believed was wedged permanently up his butt. "Your majesty!" he saluted, proudly. "I'm delighted to report that the scholars of the royal library have reliably informed me that the rain will have abated in time for tonight's performance." Garnet nodded in appreciation. "And also, I have received word that tonight's honored guests have departed Treno and are heading for Alexandria via Gargant Roo."

"Thank you." said Garnet, and continued staring out towards stormy Lindblum. _And let's hope that_ all _tonight's guests will arrive,_ she thought.

* * *

The stranger walked along the rain-soaked cobblestones atop of the South Gate. It was dangerous to be up here, he knew, but he was a firm believer that with almost every situation, the ends justify the means. And his mission had demanded this of him.

He pulled the cloak further over his head and kept his eyes low as another wash of rain pelted over him and the wind screamed in his ears. He reflected briefly on the necessity of being here and why. He had a job to do in Alexandria, and travel to Alexandria on foot was nigh on impossible if not suicidal. Not that he was worried about dying of course, but time was also a factor in this mission. That meant travel to Alexandria had to be by airship; which he didn't have. Not to mention the fact that all passengers and cargo on airships coming into or leaving the city of Lindblum had to be inspected. And given the nature of his profession, an "alumni" of the city's illegal outlaw Assassin's Guild, there was no way he could ever be given a gate pass. His employer for this mission could easily have given him one, but given the nature of _his_ profession, he couldn't afford people asking questions. 

And so, he had been told to make his own way out of Lindblum, and to make sure he could do it _quickly_. That had led him to Tantalus, the wandering band of thieves and troubadours. Once a price had been agreed, their leader, Baku, had agreed to take him to Alexandria. Their theatre ship, the Prima Vista was to rendezvous with him just outside the South Gate, but, Baku had warned him, they would not wait.

And so, he had left the city by the Dragon's Gate, and wandered out across the marshlands, forests and swamps towards the South Gate. The storm had only just begun when he left, and by now it was at it's peak. He'd walked up into the mountains and back down the side until finally he had come to the top of South Gate itself. And when he'd arrived, it had been just in time to see the Prima Vista coming out of the Mist towards the Gate. Now was the time.

The stranger took one last deep breath, and inexplicably broke into a run. He threw off his black cloak, which caught in an updraft gale, was carried by the storm, and never seen again. He ran into the wind and the rain, which slicked his silver hair and white clothes. He was fast, and he knew it. Potentially faster than anyone else on the planet, well, save one, of course. He gritted his teeth and squinted his eyes, racing across the cobblestones into the storm, until he finally came to the point he needed. Not breaking his lightning-fast run, he breathed out, braced himself, and jumped off the gate, wide and clear. He somersaulted and flipped and finally straightened himself out, opening out his arms and falling gracefully in a perfect swan dive.

Baku stepped out onto the deck and shivered as a blast of cold rain and wind blew at him. He pulled his coat tighter around him and looked around for Blank. He found him at the very back of the ship, searching through the maelstrom with a small collapsible telescope. "Hey Blank!" he shouted over the howling of the wind "Can ya see him?!?"

Blank looked back at him. "Hey, give me a break, Boss!" he shouted back. "Even with this telescope, in this storm, I couldn't even see Queen Brahne's–"

"–maysherestinpeace."

"–maysherestinpeace, of course, but in this storm I couldn't even see her ass if it was wobbling right in front of me."

"So you still haven't given up hope, huh Blank?" He laughed like a wild boar and slapped him heavily on the back. "Come on, go back inside. Albino Boy's ship has sailed without him."

They turned to go back inside, only to suddenly see a figure coming, falling right out of the storm and land heavily in a crouching position on the deck. "Holy crap!" Blank exclaimed. The fallen man stood up and looked at them, running a hand through his silver hair. "Kuja!" Baku growled. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"You gotta have a heart before you can have an attack, Baku." Kuja replied, pulling a lock of wet hair from his eyes.

"Holy Shnikies." Blank remarked. "You _jumped_ off the South Gate?!?"

"You were expecting me maybe to dance off it?"

"Whatever!" Baku dismissed. "Let's get inside! If I catch cold I'm gonna be taking it out on the price of your ticket, bucko!" Baku walked back inside and slammed the wooden door angrily. "Ah, don't worry about him." said Blank. "He's just in a bad mood, that's all."

"And when is he ever _not_ in a bad mood?" Kuja asked. Blank thought about it for a moment. "Usually only when he's in a _really_ bad mood, I guess, heh heh." Kuja allowed himself a small grin. He had never much considered becoming an actor, he had too much of a grip on this reality than to start pretending about others. But he had thought about becoming a thief, but his skills had been a lot more proficient as an assassin.

"We better go in." said Blank, pulling open the wooden door and stepping inside. Kuja stepped up the door, then turned back to face the storm and Lindblum one last time. He pulled it closed behind him, and the ship sailed on, out across the Mist, out of the storm, and on towards Alexandria.

Chapter I; "City Of Angels"

****

Alexandria

Without argument, the most magnificent city on all of Gaia. Situated on the top of a plateau that hung on the very border of the Mist, it was a place built on the co-operation and friendship of most of the planet's races and species. A peaceful place, Alexandria was politically neutral. The last war it had been involved in was long out of living memory. It was the kind of place you could only read about in a fairy tale, and only visit if you didn't mind wanting to stay afterward.

They moved through the crowd, keeping with the other nobles. Everything he saw was new to the young Black Mage who walked with them, dwarfed by the human and human-sized nobles whose company he had kept since leaving Treno. Everything of this city awed him. At only nine years of age, the world was still a collection of new experiences waiting for him to cast his golden eyes upon, and Alexandria was truly a feast for the eyes.

Vivi Ornitier stared in marvel at everything around him. It was a fresh night, the bad weather long since gone, leaving the only trace of it's existence a collection of puddles on the ground and a fresh feeling in the air. The orange glow of lights from the various buildings that were still open for business tonight cast strange shadows around the streets.

Not wanting to dawdle, Vivi jogged a few steps, trying to keep up with the quickened pace of his friend, who seemed more eager than ever to get to the castle. Maybe he just really wanted to get to see the play as soon as possible? His friend was a big aficionado of the theatre, after all. Or maybe it was also the fact that this would be the first time he would be seeing Garnet again after her coronation as Queen. 

Vivi stopped when he felt a vast shadow looming over him. He turned around and stared upwards at the vast airship that flew over the city, blotting out the light of Gaia's twin moons. He stared in wonder, craning his neck back further and further as the ship passed directly over him, until he fell over, flat on his back. His friend heard the sound of him falling over, stopped and turned around, ignoring the other nobles. He walked up to Vivi, helped him back up and saw what he had been looking at.

"It's only the theatre ship." he said. "They call it the Prima Vista. Don't fall behind, you'll get to see more of it later on during the show." Vivi nodded. "Y-yeah. I just didn't expect it to be so.....big."

"That's not big." said his friend. "If you wanna see some _big_ airships, Alexandria is the right place to be. I'll take you on one later."

"Really?!" Vivi gasped.

"Yeah, 'course." said his friend. "Now let's go, and don't fall behind again."

"Okay, Zidane." said Vivi, and trotted after his friend as they ran to catch up with the other nobles. "Honorable nobles of Treno!" they heard the Herald call. "This way to Alexandria Castle!"

"That's us!" yelled Zidane and sprinted after the other nobles, his tail trailing behind him, leaving Vivi with something to help him keep track of him. He dashed after him through the town square and on towards were the nobles gathered for the ferry that was to take them into the castle.

*~*~*

Meanwhile, on the Prima Vista, everyone was assigning his or her roles for tonight, in more ways than one. Baku wasn't around, busy changing into his costume. Cinna was trying to memorize his lines. The band was rehearsing, Marcus was practicing his sword swings, and Blank and Ruby were arguing. Again. Kuja stood at the back of the room, a man at home in shadows. He was checking his collection of throwing knives and other assorted weapons and equipment that he kept hidden amongst his clothing. Tools of his trade, as they were. Everyone was listening to Blank and Ruby, not that they had much choice.

"Well ah ain't gonna kiss you!" yelled Ruby.

"Ah, my first bit of good news." replied Blank. Cinna tried not to laugh, then looked away as Ruby glared at him. "Anyway, what's so bad about kissing me? I brush my teeth, you know."

"Oh gee, mah first bit of good news too?" Ruby countered.

__

They always get like this before a show thought Cinna. He took a look at his lines one last time, hid the script from his view and spoke the lines aloud again, interrupting Blank and Ruby. "Oh, tyrant!" he shouted. "Are we not the same, brothers in the family who's ranks swell to only include that which is mortal? If you poison me, will I not die? If you wrong me, shall I not revenge you? If I'm ticklish, won't I laugh? If I bleed, am I not a prick!?!"

Everyone looked up from their business and stared at him. "Uh, better keep practicing, Cinna." Marcus suggested. "And that's not even 'I Want To Be Your Canary' you're butchering. That's 'The Merchant Of Lindbum'."

Cinna moaned his annoyance loudly and walked off to find the proper script. Ruby and Blank resumed their arguing. "Like I was saying, nothing's wrong with kissing me! I haven't had any complaints!" said Blank.

"Ah am an _actress_, sugah!" said Ruby. "Y'all gotta give me something ah can work with. But with ya, it's just....weird."

"What exactly is the matter?" Kuja asked Marcus as the two continued on their debate over the finer points of kissing in front of a large audience. "Ah, they always get like this." Marcus explained. "Ruby's not a thief like the rest of us. She's an actress, through and through. It's in her blood, you see. Both her parents were wandering troubadours, and she spent her childhood in most of the theatres of the whole continent. It's like she was born to act. Blank on the other hand, he's a thief like the rest of us, only unlike the rest of us, he's not much into acting. We see ourselves as both thieves and actors, but Blank sees himself more as a full-time thief who's required to act every once in a while. And tonight, the big bru-ha-ha is that Ruby is gonna play Princess Cornelia, and Blank's supposed to be her lover Marcus. Now the thing is, they gotta have this big romantic kiss in the third act. Ruby's an actress, so she knows it's just acting. But she knows Blank isn't much of actor, and she knows he's either gonna take it seriously, make a lot of jokes later or embarrass her onstage."

"I see..." said Kuja, tucking a throwing knife into his boot.

"Ah, but they always find _something_ to argue about." said Marcus. "Next time, it'll probably be Blank calling her a Prima Donna. It's actually kinda cute sometimes. Hey, are you leaving?"

"Yes." said Kuja, walking towards the stairs for the upper deck. "I have my mission."

"Ah, you gotta get to your golden paycheck." said Marcus, walking beside him. "Anything you can tell me about?"

"Actually," said Kuja, stepping out onto the deck and looking down on the city lights. "It's a matter of national security. I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you."

Marcus laughed, then saw that he was being serious. "Oh." he said. "Well, good luck. If you need anything, you know where the ship will be." Kuja said nothing in reply, turning his back to Marcus. He stood atop a guardrail, the wind rushed through his silver hair as he waited for the right moment to drop down. The Prima Vista was rapidly approaching the castle walls. In a flash, Kuja disappeared over the side on the ship. He somersaulted and landed on a rooftop, crashing down onto the tiles, landing in a crouching position. He raised his head and saw the castle ahead of him.

__

Perfect he thought. Suddenly, he heard movement behind him. Quick as a flash, he pivoted around, his arm straight out, A blade shot out from a mechanism concealed under his sleeve, which he held bare inches from the throat of the person who had creeped up on him. It was just a small kid, who looked a lot like some mixture of child and rat, who was carrying a heavy-looking wooden ladder across the rooftops. A long snout and a fleshy tail. The tail reminded Kuja almost instantly of a face from his past. The rat kid wasn't so much afraid as he was confused. "Uh-oh." he said. "Are you City Watch?"

Kuja looked behind him, back at the castle, and then at the rat kid again. It was obvious the boy was intending to use the ladder to cross over into the castle. "You City Watch? Am I under arrest?!?"

"No." said Kuja, opening out his palm. The blade retracted back under his cuff. "No, I'm not City Watch. Kind of the opposite, in fact."

"Ah." said the rat kid, not understanding it all. "Couldn't get theatre tickets, or couldn't bother paying for them like me, huh? Well, no problem. You wanna see the show, then this is the free way to do it."

Kuja let the kid pass to put the ladder over the gap between the houses and the castle wall. The kid scrambled across, whilst Kuja merely walked across without even shaking or looking down. He was accustomed to balance and poise. It was practically in his genes. 

"Alright" said the rat kid. "The shows gonna be on down there. This is where we go our separate ways. Seeya Sucker!" He ran off, leaving Kuja standing there. He turned back and looked back across the rooftops of the city. If the guards noticed the ladder, they would raise the alarm, and who was he to spoil the show? He smiled as he kicked the ladder away from the wall. It fell to the ground and exploded into pieces and splinters.

He turned and crept along the castle walls, looking for an entrance. Finally, he had made it. But the celebrations would have to wait until his mission was completed. He had a job to do. He had to find Queen Garnet Til Alexandros 17th.

*~*~*

Garnet sat on her throne, her gaze idly drawn to the throne room's large windows. Off to the east, the red moon was shining over the silver-backed mountains. It was kind of ironic. Here she was, the queen of an entire nation, and yet as a supreme ruler, she wasn't allowed to actually go out and see her kingdom and touch it and feel it and taste it and live in it. She's was Alexandria's fairest leader, and at the same time it's biggest prisoner. She sighed internally. Well, maybe the events of tonight would prove a drastic turn.

Captain Adelbert Steiner and General Beatrix Mapother stood on either side of her throne. Garnet trusted them both unconditionally, but knew full well neither of them would ever allow her to just walk out of the castle. Steiner was captain of the Knights of Pluto, the "shock troops" of the Alexandrian armed forces, as he liked to think of them. Beatrix however, was the commander of the entire Alexandrian army, and fiercely proud of her position. But that wasn't the be-all and end-all of her job description. Back on the day Garnet's parents had died, Beatrix had been made to promise to take care of Garnet, who would become Queen before she was even 16. And so Beatrix had sworn an oath to protect her Queen, but it could also be said that Garnet and Beatrix's relationship went beyond a promise and a profession. It could easily have been said that they were becoming friends.

"Your Majesty!" shouted a royal guard that stood at the entrance. "Announcing the arrival of Sir Zidane Tribal, Duke of Treno!" The guard stepped aside, and Zidane entered smiling, with Vivi walking beside him, adjusting his pointed hat. Garnet smiled back, her short depression lifted. She put all thoughts of her role as Queen and her duties of tonight out of her head as she practically jumped out of the throne, ran up to Zidane and hugged him. "Hey, princess!" he laughed as she wrapped her arms around him. "Wow, I didn't think it possible, but I'd say I think you've actually gotten cuter since last time I saw ya." Garnet blushed. "Actually, it's Queen now." she said.

"Aw, shucks!" Zidane laughed. "Does this mean I can't call you cute anymore?"

"Not in public, no." Garnet replied. "And it also means that I'm always right."

Zidane smiled and looked over at Steiner and Beatrix. "Hey Rusty." he said. Steiner saluted. "Sir Zidane." Beatrix merely nodded her respect. "Let me introduce my companion." said Zidane. "This is Vivi."

Vivi nervously imitated Steiner's salute. "Um, it's nice to meet you, your majesty." he stammered. He'd never seen a Queen before. "Curious child." said Garnet with a smile. "What is he?"

Vivi decided to save his existentialist side for later. "I'm a Black Mage, ma'am."

"Sorta like a magician." said Zidane. "I found him wandering around the outskirts of Treno, lost. I took him in, and he's been a companion to me ever since."

Garnet found it amazing that Zidane could easily go walking around the countryside. What an amazing carefree life he must lead. "So, am I just in time for the show?" he asked. "Yes, sir!" said Steiner, speaking before Garnet could. "And the royal box is a-ready and waiting for yourself and the Queen." Garnet chose to remain silent, and absent-mindedly reached for the pendant that hung around her neck.

"Ah," said Zidane. "I see you still have it."

"Yes." said Garnet softly, noticing she was touching it. "I...take it everywhere." Zidane smiled, a strange spark behind his green eyes. Garnet noticed it, for a split second she saw the light shape of the pendant reflecting in his eyes. It was something she wasn't sure she liked the sight of for some reason. "Um, why don't we go? The play won't start without us."

"Sure." said Zidane. "I love this play."

And so, they left the throne room, Steiner and Beatrix escorting them as Vivi trailed behind, the sounds of the magic of the theatre drifting through the air.

*~*~*

Marcus peeked through the theatre curtains. "Wow." he said. "Pretty big audience. Nobles from all over the place. I didn't think they could get this many people into a theatre."

"Well, actually." said Blank. "It's not a theatre, it's a castle. They can fit a lot more people into a castle."

Baku strode out of the changing room, dressed head to toe in his King Leo garb. "Well, fools?" he said. "Everything ready to go?"

"Yes sir!" shouted Blank with mock enthusiasm. "The Prima Donna is ready for tonight's show!" Ruby targeted him with an icy glare that could have put frost on a volcano. "Did I say Prima Donna?" said Blank with falsetto innocence. "I meant Prima Vista. Really."

Baku looked at Marcus, who shrugged and smiled. "I dunno what to tell ya, boss." he said. "The newlyweds are arguing again."

Baku looked at Ruby and Blank. Ruby was dressed elegantly in her Cornelia costume, whilst Blank had just thrown together a few things he had found in the costume room that he thought had looked cool on him. "Okay." said Baku, pointing at Blank and Marcus. "Blank, give Marcus your costume. He's playing Marcus."

"Wha?!?" Blank, Marcus and Ruby chimed simultaneously. "I can't have the two of you acting like kids, so instead of Blank, Marcus is gonna play Marcus. He's got the same name as the lead, after all, so it'll be a dawdle for him."

"And what am I supposed to do?" Blank asked.

"You'll play support." said Baku. "Don't forget, there's lot's of nobles out there. See if you can steal some expensive stuff between acts."

"Ah, gotcha!" said Blank, with all the eagerness of someone who's just been told to do what they do best for an hour if they don't mind doing what they do worst for 5 minutes. "Right!" said Baku. "Curtain up! Lights! SFX! Action!"

"Break a leg!" shouted Blank. "Back at ya." said Ruby.

*~*~*

The chattering of the audience soon fell to a hush as the dramatic music began to play, which changed suddenly to a festive fanfare. Fireworks and special effects exploded into life as the back of the Prima Vista began to unfold before the audience's very eyes, revealing a wide stage. The audience applauded with their approval. In the royal box, even Steiner and Beatrix were silently impressed. Vivi just kept staring in silent awe, amazed. Zidane stood up and clapped his hands loudly, very impressed. Garnet looked around, wondering when the right moment would come for her to make her move. Zidane sat back down beside her, and together they watched as Baku strode out onto the stage.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" he shouting a booming voice that was well used to a lifetime of public speaking. "Tonight's performance is a story that takes place 'A long time ago, in a kingdom far, far away'...Our heroine, Princess Cornelia, is torn from her lover, Marcus. She attempts to flee the castle, only to be captured by her father, King Leo. When our story begins, Marcus, having heard this, crosses swords with the King. And now, Your Royal Majesty, Queen Garnet, Sir Zidane of Treno, noble ladies and lords, and our rooftop viewers, Tantalus proudly presents 'I Want to Be Your Canary'! – We begin with 'Episode I; A Lost Hope'!"

Kuja prowled along the castle wall. Just as he had predicted, most of the guards were busy watching the play. It was the perfect night and the perfect cover for this mission. With any luck, things would run even smoother than he could have hoped for.

Upon finding a window on one of the upper levels of the castle, Kuja clutched the wall and reached for a diamond-tipped blade tucked into his belt. With barely a silent scratching, he used the blade to cut a fine circle in the glass, allowing him to reach in and open the window from the inside. Taking one last look around, he slipped inside, satisfied that he had been completely unnoticed. He looked around, trying to judge his position from the maps of Alexandria castle he had been given to study, which he had to burn once they were committed to memory, to aid in the secrecy of the mission. He was in one of the upstairs bedrooms. Queen Garnet's chambers were only down the hall to the right. Kuja was now a firm believer in the phrase "somebody up there likes me". He stepped out into the hallway and looked around. The way left led outside, to the royal box of the amphitheater where Garnet was currently. And down on the right was her private chambers.

He crept down the hall, with the stealth and skill far surpassing that of any ninja. He carefully opened one of the heavy double doors and closed it behind him again quietly as he slipped into familiar darkness.

And waited.

*~*~*

Garnet looked around, seeing everyone engrossed in the play. With as little noise as possible, she got out of her seat. Zidane glanced at her, Steiner and Vivi barely even noticed. Beatrix however, stood directly in front of her. "I'm just going to the bathroom, Beatrix." said Garnet. "I can go by myself, you know. Just stay her and enjoy the remainder of the show." Beatrix frowned, mulling it over. "Don't make me make it an order." Garnet chuckled. Beatrix sighed, nodded and stepped aside. 

Garnet walked courteously until she felt fully out of the Alexandrian guards' sight. She then clutched at the skirts of her dress, slipped off her shoes and sprinted towards her bedroom. She opened the door as noiselessly as possible and slipped inside, closing it behind her. She squinted in the darkness, not wanting to have to light any of the lamps for fear someone might see. She walked carefully into the center of the room, standing on a patch of moonlight, shaped and distorted through the windows she had been looking through hours before. Listening carefully, she could hear a light breathing.

"You're early." she said. Kuja dropped down stealthily from above the doorway, landing gracefully like a cat. "You're late." he replied. She turned around and faced him. He was tall, taller than Zidane, with a shock of gunmetal-silver hair. Garnet noticed he had that same air about him that Zidane did. She'd only noticed it once or twice, but enough to know it was there. Like Zidane, he certainly _looked_ human, but there was just something about him. It was like looking at something that was _trying_ to be human. Like looking at a photograph that you can tell is fake but can't point out exactly _how_ it's a fake, it just is. Not that she ever thought of Zidane as fake or anything. She had just noticed once or twice when she looked at him that something was decidedly off, but it easily washed out her mind.

"You're the one they sent?" Garnet asked. Kuja nodded. "My name is Kuja, I'm here to rescue you."

"Kuja what?" asked Garnet.

"Pardon?"

"Kuja. Is that your first name or your last name?"

Kuja didn't give her that "I'm thinking about it" look. He gave her the "I'm deliberately not thinking about it because it's a stupid question" one instead. "Yes." he replied boldly.

"Oh, I see." she said. "_Just _'Kuja', then. You realize this isn't a rescue."

"Isn't it?" Kuja asked. "My employer seemed pretty pressed for time. And it certainly sounded like a rescue mission when I was given my MO. But I guess he was mistaken."

"Yes and no." Garnet replayed. "I need you to get me out of Alexandria and escort me safely to Lindblum, can you do that or not?"

"Most definitely yes." replied Kuja. Modesty and his skills did not mix. Some things are just too good for modesty. "So what are you?" Garnet asked. "A Lindblum elite soldier? Or a mercenary?"

"Neither." Kuja replied. "I'm an assassin."

"An assassin?" Garnet gasped. Kuja nodded, a small grin on his lips. "Why did they send an assassin to escort me?"

"Who better?" Kuja replied. "You won't find a better person to protect you than one of the most lethal men alive. Who would dare attack you? And should we be attacked, you have someone with a lot of, shall we say, 'experience' to come to your aid and dispatch the enemy with skill and ease. And, should we be caught or killed, my employer has full and plausible deniability to disavow my actions and say that I was just an assassin acting alone."

Garnet nodded, his logic making sense. "Okay, I understand that we leave as soon as possible. I must change."

Kuja crossed his arms and turned away, his back to her. Garnet didn't know what to say. "Ummm..." she began. Kuja cut her off. "Unless you want me to stand out in hall where a passing guard can see," he said. "Then you'll just have to show a gesture of trust and believe in me that I'll stand facing East."

Garnet sighed and went to change.

*~*~*

Shortly after this time, Zorn and Thorn, Queen Brahne's court jesters ran nervously up and down flights of stairs all over the castle. "Trouble we are in!" "We are in trouble!" The two had been pretty much out of a job since Brahne had died, since Garnet had no use of them. It was widely believed the only reason they were still around was because she hadn't gotten around to firing them yet.

In the meantime, General Beatrix had begun to get less and less happy with Garnet's prolonged absence. She had quietly excused herself from the royal box and went to check on her Queen. Walking along the long hallway, she had found only Zorn and Thorn, a pair that together as a whole only made a nuisance.

"General Beatrix!" "Beatrix the General!" they chorused.

"Begone!" she snapped. "You insult my path by standing in front of me!"

"We have bad news!" cried Thorn. "News we have, bad it is!" Zorn echoed.

Beatrix fixed her solitary-eyed gaze upon them. How they revolted her. She was a soldier, a warrior. Someone with importance in life. In Beatrix's eye, the only thing worse than someone who has no life at all was someone who was a complete waste of a life. Jesters fell under that category. "I don't care for anything you have to say to me." she dismissed. She walked past them, kicking them out of the way. "The Queen has been kidnapped!" Zorn blurted out.

Beatrix stopped in her tracks. "What?" she asked. Thorn echoed on cue. "Kidnapped, the Queen has been!"

"By whom?" Beatrix demanded.

"Know who it was, we did not." said Thorn. "The Queen left her chambers with a silver-haired man."

"Sneak out of her chambers with a silver-haired mysterious man, she did!" said Zorn. "Recognize him we did not."

Beatrix jammed two fingers in her mouth and whistled a few bars loudly. A pair of Alexandrian soldiers came running up the stairs. They saluted and awaited their orders. "The Queen is missing, believed to be kidnapped." Beatrix stated. "Raise the alarm, but make sure everything is done covertly. I don't want the kidnappers or the audience to suspect anything. Seal off the castle entirely."

The soldiers nodded, saluted and ran off. Beatrix turned back, completely ignoring Zorn and Thorn and walked back to the royal box.

*~*~*

"Kidnapped?!" Zidane echoed.

"My Queen!!!" Steiner screamed, hopping up and down on the spot like a lunatic. He stopped when he noticed Beatrix, Zidane and Vivi staring at him strangely. "Ahem." he said. "We should find her as soon as we can!"

"Agreed." said Zidane.

"Sir Zidane." said Beatrix, saluting. "If I may, sir, suggest that you leave it to myself and Captain Steiner. People will notice a lord of your stature running around, and we can't afford to let anyone know about this."

"Yeah, I see." said Zidane, sitting down again.

"We'll find her before the play is over, Sir Zidane!" Steiner vowed. "And we'll hang whoever done it from the closest flagpole!"

Zidane nodded and left them to it, his interest in the play completely obliterated now that Garnet was on his mind. If something should happen to her...

He noticed Vivi looking at him. "Don't worry about it." said Zidane. "They'll get her back."

*~*~*

As Steiner assembled his Knights of Pluto, Beatrix was busy giving orders to the guards to maximize security as quickly and as quietly as possible. She ordered the soldiers to split into teams and search for the Queen. Alone, she drew her sword, ironically called Save The Queen, and began her own search solo.

Kuja and Garnet raced through the night, Kuja making sure Garnet could keep up with his movements. After changing into an orange jumpsuit, white shirt and a hood, Garnet had ordered that Kuja must absolutely not kill a single guard or soldier, which made their escape a little more difficult. As they approached the small dock on the castle moat, they saw the ferry was gone.

"They're locking up the castle!" said Kuja, seeing the gate to the city on the other side of the moat being closed up.

"How do we get out of here?" Garnet asked. Kuja looked around for options. "There!" he pointed at one of the castle's towers. "We can try to swing over the castle walls from there." Garnet nodded, and they ran for the tower.

Steiner was getting nowhere. His Knights were scattered all over the palace, and Beatrix's soldiers had managed to seal off the palace, but didn't have any luck finding the princess and her kidnapper. He decided to report back to Zidane and ask if he had recommendations on the situation. He was a nobleman, after all. The ruling nobleman of Treno, at that, and a skilled warrior. Maybe he would be able to help. Indeed, he was to find that Zidane would not be shortcoming.

"Well, if you want my opinion, I'd suggest moving some squads up to the higher points of the castle." Zidane offered. "They can spot Garnet and her kidnapper from an elevated position. I'd also recommend sealing off the gates to Treno, Burmecia and Lindblum, just in case. And keep all the boats in Alexandria harbor docked, and none are to leave."

Steiner saluted. The rumors of Zidane's skill with battle tactics were not unfounded. Suddenly, Zidane cocked his head to the left, and looked up towards the high towers of the castle. "What's that ruckus?"

Steiner followed his gaze, squinting his eyes. "I can't hear anything..." he said, then gasped as he saw two figures, one in white and one in orange, swing from the tower and land on the Prima Vista. Then a third armored figure with brown hair promptly followed them across. "That's Beatrix!" Steiner yelled.

*~*~*

Kuja and Garnet stood on the tower. As Kuja searched for the right rope, Garnet leaned over the edge, seeing the audience, and, more importantly, the ground _far_ below them. "Are you sure about this?" she said.

"Relax." said Kuja. "I always have a plan. Now, take this rope here. We'll swing over the castle walls, then–"

"Hold it!" Beatrix ordered from behind them. Garnet froze. Kuja merely grinned and turned around, staring down the length of a long ornate sword. A small aura from the blade indicated the presence of one of Beatrix's violent Seiken spells charging. "General Beatrix." he said. "Sorry I don't have time for an autograph."

"I'll take that rope." she said. "Queen Garnet, stand aside."

Kuja handed her the rope, which Beatrix cut instantly. It fell away from the tower, useless to them. "Queen Garnet, are you okay?"

"Beatrix..." she said quietly. "Let me go. This is an order..."

Beatrix looked at her, then at Kuja, then back at her again. "What's going on your majesty? Who is this man?"

"I'm running away." Garnet explained. "I have important business. Let us go and please don't follow."

Beatrix seemed like she was thinking about it for a moment, but actually she was just confused. "I can't allow that to happen, your majesty." she replied earnestly. "Now please, come with me. There is no way out."

Kuja looked around, and soon found the way out. The airship, Prima Vista was still down there. They wouldn't have _that_ way out covered. He turned back to Beatrix, and stared her right in the eye. "What a beautiful eye." he exclaimed. "A shame there's only one..."

Quick as a flash, he clasped the palms of his hands over the blade of her sword and wrenched it from her grasp. Beatrix gasped in shock and indignation, as Kuja pointed her own sword at her. His smile made her blood boil. "Your majesty." he said, staring at Beatrix but speaking to Garnet. "Grab that rope and swing over to the theatre ship." Garnet looked around for the one he meant. She unhooked it from the side of the tower and wrapped a length of it around her wrist and gave it a confidant tug, before getting up to stand on the very edge of the tower.

"Don't do it, your majesty!" Beatrix gasped. Garnet turned and faced her, then smiled and shrugged. Kuja himself grabbed a hold of another rope. Then, abruptly, he held out Beatrix's sword, hilt-first to her. "I'm many things." he said. "But a thief isn't one of them."

Beatrix snatched her sword back, just as Kuja and Garnet went over the side, swinging far over the heads of the play's audience. When they reached the full arc of the swing, Kuja shouted for Garnet to let go. Inertia carried them the rest of the way, and they landed on the soft inflated canopy of the airship.

Beatrix watched them, and then without hesitation, looked around for another rope. She unhitched it and gave it a tug. The swing would take her to the theatre ship too. She stood on the side of the tower, and then swung off, the swing of her rope taking a radically different direction than Garnet and Kuja's. She saw where she was headed, closed her eye and threw an arm up to shield her face as she crashed through one of the large windows on the upper deck of the ship.

She rolled to a stop and stood up, only losing a second to brush the splinters and dust off her clothes. _Who was that man?_ she wondered. What was Queen Garnet up to? She picked up her sword and began to stalk the ship in search of the Queen and the man in white.

***

In the royal box, Zidane stood facing away from Vivi and Steiner. What was Garnet doing on the theatre ship? He knew that one of those figures had been Garnet, alright. He recognized the orange jumpsuit. It had been a gift from him one Winter solstice. And the man in white? He didn't even want to _think_ about whom that might have been.

"What do we do now, Sir Zidane?" Steiner asked.

"You mean what do _you _do?" Zidane replied. "This is your show. I'm just a visiting Duke from Treno. I got no say in military situations and matters of state here."

Vivi could sense that Zidane was saying those words not like he believed them, but more like those words were restraining him, those facts holding him back from something...

Blank was busy working the crowd. But, as he lifted a gold watch from some noble's jacket, he could hear a disturbance from the royal box. Sounded like something was up to him. He heard a noise from behind him. Someone was returning to their seat. Blank jumped back into the shadows, waiting for his quarry to appear from around the corner. It was another nobleman, male and a human. He was slightly taller than Blank, but of course, Blank had a weapon, and an attitude. More than enough to make up for the size factor. _Never _ever_ underestimate the viciousness, battle prowess, fighting skill and ability of someone shorter than you_. Blank liked to call that Rule One. Good rule, that, everyone could agree on.

As the nobleman walked around the corner, Blank stepped out behind him and prodded the small of his back gently with a dagger. "Stick 'em punk, it's the fun lovin' criminal." he said, grinning.

On the stage, Ruby was in her element, procrastinating endlessly over the death of Cornelia's mother. Baku stood at the back of the stage, looking on, doing his best to look like some leary king. Ruby practically sang of her woes. There wasn't a dry eye in the rows at the front, or, in the case of Blank at the back, a full wallet.

Ruby was distracted slightly for a nanosecond as she heard a noise off to her left. But, drawing on her artistic skill, she just made it seem as if her character had sobbed somewhat. 

She returned to metaphoring her life with that of a canary in it's cage, secretly wondering what all the ruckus was backstage. Baku heard it too, and seeing as how Leo wasn't important to the scene, went backstage to investigate.

"We're taking off!" Kuja ordered, bursting onto the bridge with Garnet in tow. Cinna had been falling asleep at the wheel, and had gone from a state of practical hibernation to the sobriety level you get after your 5th cup of coffee in the fraction of a second. The effect on the body was obvious.

"Hey!" shouted Baku, storming in. "Nobody gives any orders here but me! Especially not some duded-up albino guttertrash! The play's not over yet! We're staying."

Kuja stepped up to him, face to face, eye to eye. All of a sudden, Baku noticed how tall Kuja was, and that Rule One may only be a good one 95% of the time. "The head of the Alexandrian army, General Beatrix herself is on this ship." Kuja explained. "Think you could last longer than 3 seconds if you resisted her? Longer than 1 if she calls for back up? This ship will be detained, searched and everyone arrested."

Baku seemed to think it over. Kuja was amazed that the man seemed to have gotten it into his head that there actually _was_ time to think it over. "How many outstanding warrants are there for you and your men?" Kuja asked. "And when they search this ship, and they will, how do you think they'll react to all the stolen treasure you've got hidden in the holds of the ship?"

"How did you know about the hidden loot?" Baku asked.

"A good guess."

"We're taking off!" Baku ordered. Cinna leapt to his feet and began to start up the Mist engines. "Hey is that who I think it is?" Baku asked, staring at Garnet. "Who do you think it is?" Kuja asked.

"Someone who could get us all into a lot of trouble when you get caught!" Baku growled.

"You don't have to worry about anything, sir." said Garnet, speaking for the first time. "I came voluntarily. I have an important mission in Lindblum, and Kuja is here to escort me."

"To what end, your majesty?"

Everybody turned. Beatrix stood in the doorway, her sword drawn. "That's Beatrix of Alexandria!" Baku exclaimed. "Well guys, it's been nice knowing you." sighed Cinna.

"It's a personal matter, Beatrix." said Garnet. "Please, I need you not to follow me."

"I'm sorry, your majesty, I took an oath to take care of your well-being. Orders and oaths are different things." Beatrix explained. "Now please, come with me. These men are under arrest."

Baku and Cinna slowly raised their hands. Kuja cautiously took a step back towards the steering wheel. In the distance, he could hear that Cinna had already powered up the Mist engines. "Hey, you!" snapped Beatrix. "Put your hands up!"

"You're the boss." Kuja replied, and threw his arms up, knocking the steering wheel into a spin. The ship veered violently to the left, knocking everyone off balance. Kuja grabbed Garnet and ran with her into the engine room. Outside, the audience stood up and wondered what was going wrong. The ship was starting to turn to the left. Ruby got back on her feet and looked around. Something was going disastrously wrong. Blank, still standing in front of his victim, politely offering to carry for him what looked like an extremely heavy wallet, heard the noise of the ship starting up. "Hey, did you hear something that sounded like an airship taking off?!" He burst into a dash before the sentence was over.

In the royal box, everyone looked startled at the sight before them. "Sound the alarm!" Steiner shouted. "Order all available soldiers to close on that airship! Don't let it get away!"

Kuja and Garnet ran through the engine room. Kuja could sense Beatrix wasn't far behind them. They ran into the room under the stage and looked around for a way out. "It's a dead end!" Garnet gasped. Suddenly, Marcus came running up from the far end of the room. "Kuja!" he yelled, then stopped when he saw Garnet. "Wow, so this is your mission. So much for 'aim small, miss small'..."

"We need a way out of here!" Garnet begged.

"No problem." said Marcus, stepping up to a handful of levers. "Get on number 2." Garnet and Kuja looked at him blankly. "Get on that platform there." he pointed. They got on just as Beatrix came running in. Marcus yanked the lever and the platform rose to the stage above. Beatrix shoved Marcus aside and pulled on one of the other levers. Another platform began to rise. She leapt on and followed Garnet and Kuja up.

"Are we ready to go!?" shouted Baku. "Roger, boss!" Cinna shouted back. "Mist engines are powered up!" 

"Then let's make like a shepherd and get the flock out of here!" 

"Roger, boss!"

"It's 'Baku', actually. Not Roger."

The ship lurched forward, then stopped just as quickly. "What's wrong?" Baku shouted. "We're still moored, boss!"

"Damn! Then let's get un-moored!"

"Rog- ....yes sir, Baku, boss...whatever..."

"What in tarnation!?" Ruby cried as Kuja and Garnet appeared in front of her. "What in the wide, wide, world of Gaia is ah-goin' on here?" Before she could get her answer, the trap door beneath her feet began to open, and she jumped to the side as Beatrix began to rise up, her sword already pointed at Kuja.

"What kinda cattle are you chasin', darlin'?" Ruby asked. Beatrix ignored her, concentrating her anger and her powerful one-eyed glare on Kuja. The pair regarded each other, lost in the moment.

Before Kuja could react, Beatrix's sword flared an icy white and she lunged at him, the beam of light reaching a crescendo as she slashed him wide across the chest. He staggered back, clutching at his heart, his teeth clenched in agony. Beatrix regained a fighting poise, her sword held up behind her head, ready for another Seiken attack should the need arise. Silently, she was amazed. She had slashed open his chest and cut him right across the heart. Where was the gushing fountain of blood? There was no blood anywhere on Kuja's white clothes or the deck around him. Garnet immediately went to Kuja's aid. She was just as amazed as Beatrix to find a lack of blood. His clothes had been torn, but, not a single drop of blood or even a scar. _NO_ Cure spell could ever heal a wound like that and not even not leave some mark on the body. She saw Kuja regain his balance, his hand still on his heart. The look on his face went from one of pain, to a smile.

"Beatrix of Alexandria." he said. "The knight who shows no mercy, and once single-handedly killed 100 knights in combat. And you even managed to hurt me...a little."

Beatrix stared at him. She was silently impressed and awed at the same time. By all rights, she could have killed him ten times over by now. Kuja took his hand off his heart, revealing to her a tiny trickle of blood on two of his fingers. He raised his fingers to his lips and kissed them, taking the blood back into his body.

"You cut my heart in half." he said. "If just for a second..."

"What are you?" Beatrix asked.

"Wish I knew."

Everyone had seen everything. The audience at first believed it to be a part of the play, except for the ones who had seen it before. Nevertheless, the special effects were fantastic! And even Queen Garnet and General Beatrix had played cameo roles. Nobody knew who the silver-haired man was, until somebody suggested it might be the famous Lowell of Lindblum.

However, in the royal box, things were decidedly different. Vivi noticed the change in Zidane's manner instantly. His tail twitched, and his eyes seemed to become more and more cat-like. A quiet angry growl, like an animal, emanated from somewhere in his throat. "Kuja!" he snapped.

On the stage, Kuja turned around to face the royal box. Amid all the chaos and confusion, it was like there was a bell in his head that only he could hear. Something that said; _Turn around and face me. Say hello to your biggest nightmare._

"Zidane." he said in recognition.

Zidane turned to Steiner. "Stop that ship at all costs!" he ordered. Steiner instantly seemed to forget that Zidane could not give him orders. "If I may ask how, sir?" he asked.

"That silver-haired man is a dangerous criminal!" Zidane shouted. "He means to murder Queen Garnet! He must be stopped no matter what!"

That certainly got Steiner's motor running. He began to shout commands at his troops a million a minute. In the meanwhile, Zidane remembered some of the castle defenses Garnet had shown him on his many visits. Without even bothering to consult Steiner, he looked around for the hidden control panel and found it within seconds. As he pressed the many stone buttons, silent turrets around the castle began to spin into action, pointing giant-sized harpoons at the Prima Vista.

"Vivi, Firaga." Zidane asked. Vivi looked indecisive for the moment. Queen Garnet was such a nice person. What if he hurt her? But if Zidane was right, then that silver-haired man had to be stopped. He clenched his fists and began to focus his power, concentrating on a huge fireball to hurl at the airship.

"Why aren't we moving?" Baku yelled. 

"I don't know!" Cinna yelled. "I think we missed a mooring rope somewhere!"

Baku angrily smacked Cinna upside the head and took control of the steering wheel. He pulled on a lever and pushed the engine's power up to maximum. The ship groaned, protesting their adherence to the laws of physics. The strong mooring rope at the front of the ship was still tied tightly, and the ship was veering left and right, crashing into the walls of the castle in an attempt to break free.

"Come, on!" Baku growled as the engines screamed. "Who's your daddy?"

Blank came running, then jumped, soaring clean over the heads of the audience. The ship was elevated, too high off the ground for him to jump up and grab, not to mention the fact that there were a dozen Alexandrian soldiers chasing him. It wasn't that he didn't want a dozen armored, blonde Amazonian babes chasing after him. It was just a matter of right situation, wrong time, for him.

He ran under the ship towards the front of it, where the last mooring rope was still tied. Without braking his pace, he ran for it, jumping up at the last moment, drawing his sword and slashing the rope beneath him. Instantly, the ship, free from it's restraint, jumped forward. Blank waved bye-bye to his pursuers as the ship began to pull away.

Baku whooped in joy as the ship finally began to move in the right direction, just as Vivi unleashed the Firaga blast. It cut through the air, but thanks to Blank's actions, the ship and been able to move forward, and the fireball slammed into another part of the ship, just over the heads of Kuja, Garnet, Beatrix and Ruby. 

"Get down!" Kuja shouted as debris began to rain down on them, shielding the women with his body.

Zidane, waiting for the smoke to clear, slammed his fist down in anger as he saw the ship began to pull away. He was ambivalent, relieved to see Garnet okay, but angered that it meant the others were also alive. He began to press the switches on the control panel. The harpoon cannons aimed themselves at the ship and began to fire, dragging heavy metal chains through the air with them.

They impacted with the ship, tearing chunks out of the hull. Garnet stared in horror as she saw one heading straight for where she stood. Out of nowhere, Kuja appeared, pushing her to the side out of harms way. He saw the chain come slicing through the air towards him. He concentrated his power in that instant of time, and the world seemed to slow around him. He leaned back, too quick to be seen by the naked eye, and felt the slow rush as the arrow and chain screamed past his shoulder. It felt like an eternity. He could feel the pumping in his heart, the one breath that felt like an ice age. He could see the ripples in the air made by the velocity of the arrow, and the slow whooshing sound as it scraped past his shoulder.

He fell backwards, out of harms way, time instantly snapping back to normal. "That's incredible." Beatrix gasped next to him. She'd never seen anything like before. What kind of magic was that?

No time to debate it now. The chains were ripping through the hull, turning the ship into Swiss cheese. "All ahead full!" Baku shouted from behind the wheel. Marcus nodded and dashed into the engine room, turning on an auxiliary Mist engine, a back up for emergencies. "Crank this baby up to 50 knots!" Baku shouted.

With the added power, the ship was able to tear itself away from the heavy chains, whoosh over the castle walls and race over the houses of Alexandria. On of the turrets on the starboard side of the ship gave up it's battle against gravity and fell from the side of the ship, crashing down onto an empty house below.

She ship raced forward, at maximum speed. It cleared the city and record time and rushed out over the Mist, leaving the Alexandria plateau behind it. 

Blank clung on to the rope at the front of the ship, dangling like a worm on a hook, not daring to even allow himself a slip. To his horror, he saw the ship was barely able to remain floating on the Mist. They were going down.

Back at Alexandria, an air of gloom hung over the castle. The play had ended with a complete disaster. The only relief was that as far as anyone knew, nobody had been killed. Vivi sat down on a small stool. He was saddened that he'd been the one who had cost a lot of damage, but at the same time, glad that nobody had been hurt. And on top of all that, a little insecure, knowing that Garnet had been taken away by that man Zidane seemed to dislike so much.

Steiner and Zidane were busy talking about what to do now.

"Well, Rusty, seems like you're calling the shots now." Zidane announced.

"What?!" Steiner gasped.

"Check your mandate." Zidane suggested. "What happens when the Queen is declared incapacitated?"

Steiner searched his memory, then found it. "Uh, control of the state falls to her closest living relative."

"But Garnet doesn't have any close living relatives. An only child, and an orphan."

Steiner tried to remember the rest of the mandate. "Then, when there temporarily no member of the royal family available to govern, leadership falls to the commander-in-chief of the Alexandrian armed forces."

"Unless I'm much mistaken, General Beatrix was also on that airship."

"What does that mean?" Vivi asked.

"...It means..." said Steiner, taking the sudden wave of responsibility all in. "...that leadership falls to me, captain of the Knights of Pluto."

"Congratulations." said Zidane. "So, what are you going to do about the situation?"

Steiner stood at the front of the box, seeing all the soldiers and guards assembled beneath him, awaiting orders from their new leader. It was all up to him now. The burden was squarely on _his_ shoulders. He looked at them all, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable. He wasn't used to leadership. Well, sure, he was a high-ranking military official, but he just wasn't used to it on this scale. What was he thinking? He couldn't run a country! He was only any good when he was in the middle of the chain of command. He could take any orders, and issue any orders to those he commanded no problem. He was a great middleman. A perfect medium. The problem was, he didn't know the first thing about commanding from the top, _especially_ not as the head of a nation...

...but Zidane did.

Steiner looked at him. Duke Zidane, ruler of Treno. He was a head of state, and completely trustworthy. He knew what to do, and of course, the people of Alexandria knew him and trusted him. And why not? He was a pureblood nobleman, of course! What would Steiner, a lowly knight, know about leadership in comparison to one who was appointed by the gods?

"Duke Zidane!" he said, his mind made up. "I formerly request to temporarily hand control of the state of Alexandria and all it's resources over to you until this crisis is resolved."

Zidane smiled, a tiny glare sparking behind his eyes. "Of course." he said. "I already know how we can rescue the Queen. I have the perfect means of doing so."

Steiner smiled, relieved. Thank the gods for sending Zidane to us. Alexandria's guardian angel.

*~*~*

"She gonna crash! Save yourselves!" Baku shouted.

The Prima Vista had fallen beneath the mist and was heading for the ground. More precisely, the Evil Forest. "Number 2 engine is on fire!" Marcus shouted. "I think she's gonna blow!"

Ruby scrambled to get back on her feet, clutching at the deck to get a handhold. to her surprise, it was Beatrix who helped her up. "What's going on?" the General asked.

"Ah think the ship's gonna crash!" Ruby yelled. "Y'all better brace yourselves!"

Beatrix saw Garnet trying to get to Kuja, who was clinging on to a guardrail tightly. She followed Ruby's advice and found a rope, a length of stage rigging and held on, fighting the wind to stay onboard the ship. The ship was coming dangerously close to the ground now, scraping the treeline. Ruby tried to make it to a handhold, but the large princess outfit she was wearing was hindering her movements. Suddenly, the wind caught her and she fell over the side, landing somewhere among the trees.

"Ruby!" Blank shouted. From where hung, he was the only one who had seen her. He looked around, ahead of him, seeing the ship was heading straight for a mountain. You didn't have to be a genius to calculate the odds of surviving when you're hanging on to only a rope tied to the front a ship that's a flaming thundering juggernaut about to impact headfirst with a very foreboding-looking mountain. The actual odds of surviving? Let's just say that when you actually do the math, you don't have to worry about carrying the 1.

Blank, exceptional math student at that moment, decided to take his chances and let go of the rope. Besides, somebody needed to help Ruby. "Oh hell." he said, and let go of the rope, falling into the trees as the Prima Vista thundered forward, colliding head-on with the mountain.

The explosion was heard for miles around, and then, the Evil Forest went completely silent...

*~*~*~*~*~*

"On A Day Like Today" by Bryan Adams. Lyrics copyright © 1998 badams music ltd. (ascap) Produced by Bryan Adams and Phil Thornally. Music arranged by Bryan Adams. Recorded in Vancouver, Canada. Bryan Adams; Guitar, Bass & Vocals. Keith Scott; Guitars & Six String Bass. Mickey Curry; Drums. Dave Taylor; Bass. Danny Cummings; Percussion. Copyright © 1988 Badman Limited and A&M records Inc.


	2. Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)

Chapter II; "Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)"

Chapter II; "Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)"

** **

Evil Forest****

"Did anyone get the number of that donkey cart?"

Blank sat up, rubbing his head. He felt around the back of his skull. Sure enough, there was a lump, which felt the size of a goose egg. Fortunately, he had the shock of flaming deep-red hair to cover it.

He got to his feet and looked around. The Prima Vista and the other members of Tantalus were nowhere to be seen. He rubbed his head and tried to rack his brains over what had just happened, and what to do next. Racking his brains was in fact, proving to be quite a task. Ruby had gone on the record several times as stating he didn't actually _have any._

Ruby! That brought everything rushing back to him with the unpleasantness of a hangover, and the bump on his head _really added to the euphemism. He'd jumped out of the Prima Vista to save her. Okay, so he'd jumped off to save himself too, but Blank was never the one to get technical._

"Damn." he said to himself, summing up his situation. None of the others were around either. Kuja, the Queen, the other members of Tantalus. Even that scary-ass General chick. He looked around. He was in the infamous 'Evil Forest', and no mistake. It was dark, scary and..... quiet, he noticed.

"Heyyyyyy, waiiiiiit a minute." he said, the quietness slowly dawning on him. "_Hello?! Uh-oh." It was the bad kind of quiet. The dangerous kind of quiet. There weren't even monsters around. That probably meant that there was something in this forest that made even your common garden scaryass monster afraid to come near a solitary person. _

There was no sign of Ruby, or anyone else for that matter. He couldn't see any wreckage from the Prima Vista around either.

Perfect, just perfect.

He sighed and stepped forward, looking for the way out of the forest, or preferably one of his friends. Whichever came first. He hopped over a bush of nettles and narrowly avoided falling into a murky pond. He had a keen sense of direction, provided he knew which way he was going, but he couldn't even see the stars or either of the moons through the thick Mist that veiled the continent. 

In fact, he was so busy looking up that he didn't watch where he was going and fell over a log. "Damn." he muttered.

"Ow!"

Blank was vaguely aware of the concept that logs didn't say "Ow!". If they did, the lumberjacks of the timber and pine trade would have been rounded up and put behind bars to await the kind of trials not seen since Nuremberg. He stood up and looked behind him. "Ruby, I presume?"

Ruby stood up with Blank's help, dazed and dirty. Her turquoise and white hair was wet and sodden, and her pink and frilly princess outfit looked decidedly out-of-place in this dark and somber forest. Blank stifled a grin, secretly relieved that Ruby was okay, and that he'd found another person.

"Blank? Whu-what,.... where are we?"

"Evil Forest." Blank announced. "My understanding is it's a three-star evil forest, with ample cart parking, valet service, wall-to-wall carpeting and a magnificent sign on top that says; 'This Is An Evil Forest'."

"Wonderful." Ruby sighed, and noticed her attire didn't exactly match the surroundings. "Have y'all been here before, Blank?"

"Of course not." he said, looking around for which direction they should take. "Can't you tell?"

"How can I tell?"

"By the fact that nobody's ever made it out of this forest alive."

Ruby went wide-eyed. Blank looked at her and grinned. "Don't worry." he said. "We'll make it out of here. I'm an experienced outdoorsman. I'll find us a way out, so don't worry."

"Stop telling me not to worry, you're getting me worried." Ruby fretted. "So you know about these kinds of forests? Is there anything I should beware of or look out for?"

"Sure," Blank replied, hopping onto a tree stump and vaulting over a pond. "Look out for cannibalistic recluse old ladies who live in houses made entirely out of perishable foodstuffs out in the middle of nowhere, and walking talking transvestite wolves."

Blank turned round, wanting to see the look on her face as he grinned inanely. She sighed, hitched up her skirts and followed him into the depths of the forest.

***

Baku stood in front of the wreckage of the Prima Vista. It was completely destroyed. Totaled. Written off. In more pieces than it showed on the box. It had ceased to be. It was an ex-theatre ship. Baku could only stare at it like he was in a waking coma. Cinna and Marcus stood behind him, not really knowing what to say.

"Well, we got the fire out, boss." Cinna reported.

Baku waved a hand at the wreckage and made a whimpering sound.

"And everyone on board seems to be okay. No casualties." Marcus assured.

Baku waved a hand at the wreckage and made a whimpering sound.

"We can always get another ship, boss." encouraged Cinna.

Baku waved a hand at the wreckage and made a whimpering sound.

"You know what they say." Marcus began. "There are plenty more ships in the ocean."

"I think it's 'there's plenty more _fish in the ocean', Marcus."_

"Don't be a plonker all your life, Cinna." Marcus dismissed. "We're not gonna be able to ride around on a fish."

"Forget it, fools." Baku said, snapping out of it. He turned and faced them, away from the wreckage of his theatre ship, which had cost him an arm and a leg. He hadn't even managed to steal half enough of the Gil needed to make the final payments.

"We gotta make a move out of this forest as soon as we can." Baku announced. "Tell everyone to gather what they can and make we'll make our move out of here."

"Blank and Ruby haven't been found yet." said Marcus. "And the queen is still missing."

"Blank can take care of Ruby no problem." Baku chuckled. "It might do the newlyweds some good to stick together for a while, presuming they don't kill each other. Blank will no doubt head for where we're heading, the hideout in Lindblum."

"Right." said Marcus, saluting and walking off. Baku strode away, leaving Cinna there. "Could if it was one of them gigantic fishes..." he huffed and sulked away, kicking an idle rock as he went.

***

"You goin' somewhere?" Baku asked, addressing Kuja, who was standing in front of a pile of wreckage. Kuja was taking what supplies and weapons he could carry upon his person.

"My mission is to escort the Queen safely to Lindblum." Kuja replied. He held a dagger up in front of his face and turned it this way and that, examining it, then tucked it into one of his belts. "I'm going to complete the mission to the best of my ability. You can help me or you can get out of my way."

"Then it's out of your way we'll be." Baku replied, bending down and fishing a plaque out of the rubbish. He held it up and cleared away the dirt to reveal the ship's registry, complete with tonnage, maximum capacity, the shipyard registry and carved in the gold were the words: _"There and Back Again."_

"Fine." said Kuja, taking a bottle filled with a noxious purple liquid. The two men looked at each other for a few seconds. Baku had an annoyed look on his face. Of course, his ship was crashed, and they had almost come close to being caught and executed. Baku was annoyed that Kuja had managed to not only drag the Queen onto their ship and use it as a getaway vehicle, but also take the infamous General Beatrix of Alexandria along for the ride.

Kuja, on the other hand just looked expectant and impatient. He worked alone, and didn't like other people getting in his way. He had a mission to do, which he could actually do better without anyone's help.

"Fine." Baku echoed as the other members of Tantalus came walking up behind him. "We're outta here. We're departing for Lindblum right now. You know why the call this the Evil Forest, right?"

Kuja looked into the dark, silent and foreboding evil woods. And grinned. "Because nobody's supposed to have ever made it out alive."

"Right. So we're gonna make like my pants and split. Seeya around, albino-boy!" Baku snorted and pushed past Kuja. 

"He-hey, boss!" Marcus called out. Baku stopped, not bothering to turn around. "Oh yeah." he said, reminded by Marcus. "Blank and Ruby might be around. If we find 'em, we'll take 'em to Lindblum with us, if you find them..."

"I'm only going to escort Queen Garnet to Lindblum." Kuja cut him off. "I'm not going to escort everyone around like some wretched tour guide."

"Alrighty." said Baku, leading his band into the woods. "But only me and Blank're the ones with a map of this continent. Think you'll make it Lindblum without knowing where it is? Whahahah!!"

Kuja narrowed his eyes, and turned back to the wreckage.

"Halt!" yelled Beatrix, stepping out in front of Baku and Tantalus. "You are all under arrest! None of you are going anywhere! Especially _you!" She pointed at Kuja, who was merely pulling something from the wreckage. Baku towered over her. "I've made a living out of not being arrested. Tantalus ain't gonna break it's lucky streak for you, General pain-in-the-ass! Think you're gonna be able to do much without your sword?" Baku was right; she was indeed missing her sword. Beatrix didn't care. She was a master at all forms of combat, including unarmed. Even if Baku was three times her size._

"My duty is to my Queen." Beatrix retorted. "Dead or alive, you're all coming with me!"

"Shaddup!" said Baku, sneering. He pushed Beatrix away by her face and she landed indignantly in a muddy puddle. He then led his band into the forest, until eventually, the sound of his laughter faded and was replaced by the silence all round.

Angered, Beatrix wiped strands of dirty hair from her eyes. She then felt a shadow looming over her, and looked up to see the white man standing over her. He regarded her, emotionless for a second, then surprisingly offered his hand, not the least bit worried that she would try to cut it off. Then she remembered her missing sword. Reluctantly, she took his hand and pulled herself up.

"I don't need your help." Beatrix said coldly.

"I never said that you did." Kuja replied.

"Who are you?" Beatrix demanded.

"My name is Kuja."

"Well, Kuja." Beatrix said, crossing her arms. "You're under arrest. You tried to kidnap the Queen, a crime punishable by death. I'd kill you now, only Alexandria will want to see you placed on trial for your crimes."

"Kill me now, and Garnet will almost certainly die." Kuja said with an icy tone in his voice.

"Is that a threat?" Beatrix growled.

"No." Kuja explained. "This is the Evil Forest. Garnet has spent her entire lifetime in the confines of the castle. How long do you think she'll survive lost in these woods? I must find her as soon as possible."

"You?" Beatrix snorted. "You're trying to kill her!"

"On the contrary. Indeed, I am an assassin, but my mission is actually to protect her." said Kuja. 

"So is mine." said Beatrix. "Fine then. We'll find her, then I'll take you both back to Alexandria, where you will be hanged for your crimes, _assassin."_

"We?" Kuja echoed. "I work alone."

"Yes, _we." Beatrix replied. "Don't think I'm letting you out of my sight. If you care for the Queen's well-being like you claim, then you understand that we stand a better chance of finding her if we stick together."_

"Fine." said Kuja, already leaving the clearing and heading into the forest. "Just don't slow me down."

Beatrix took one last look at the debris of the Prima Vista and sighed, knowing that her prized sword was lost forever. She then turned and slid down a dead tree bark into the swamp, and followed the mysterious Kuja.

***

"Okay, I've got a good one.," announced Blank. 

Ruby stifled a moan. 

"How do you make a King Lear?" Blank began. Ruby didn't reply. "Put the Queen in a bikini!"

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Wow, tough audience." Blank went on. "You'd think actors would have a sense of humor. Okay, here's a good one, this one brought the house down at The Cleyran's Head amateur night. .... Ahem... A Moogle, a Human, a Blue Mage and The King of Burmecia decided to go fishing together. The Moogle–"

"What was that?" Ruby said, suddenly.

"Oh don't worry, it's clean, I won't tell you any dirty ones. I remember the look on your face when I told everyone the one about the Bishop of Treno and the chocolate chastity belt."

"No, there's something in the forest!" Ruby cried.

Blank drew his sword. "Why has someone always gotta cut me off before I can tell a joke?" he muttered.

"Because they're a humanitarian?"

"Ah, shaddup."

There was indeed a rustling in the bushes. There was movement in the forest. Whatever it was, it was coming towards them. "What do we do?!" Ruby hissed, grabbing Blank out of fear.

"Well, for starters, you getting off my foot would be ideal, that way we can make a run for it." Blank replied.

"Your plan is ta run for it?!?"

"Uh-huh."

The rustling became closer.

"Great plan!!!"

Before the two of them could make a move, the rustling ceased, and Kuja and Beatrix stepped out of the woods. "It's not her." Kuja said, disappointment absent from his tone.

"No, it's one of those Tantalus thieves and...." Beatrix trailed off as she stared at Ruby's princess attire.

"Kuja!" Blank yelled. "Boy, am I glad to see a friendly face!"

Kuja and Beatrix looked at him. "Well, a familiar face, anyway...."

"Have you seen the Queen?" Beatrix demanded.

"Nah." Blank shook his head. "Passed by a gingerbread house a while back, and a trio of talking bears complaining about a squatter, but no Queens."

"Is he always like this?" Beatrix asked Ruby.

"Nah, sometimes he goes ta sleep." she replied.

"Hey, Kuja, where's Baku and the others?" Blank asked.

"...They bugged out and headed for Lindblum." Kuja explained. "Beatrix and I are looking for Garnet. She's lost somewhere here, I have to find her and bring her to Lindblum."

"Alexandria." Beatrix corrected. Kuja scowled.

"Um, isn't that General Beatrix?" Blank hissed.

"You want an autograph?" the one-eyed soldier replied sarcastically.

Ruby sighed. She was relieved to have company other than Blank, but what were the odds that they would turn out to be that sinister Kuja guy and General Beatrix herself? Her momma was right, she had the worst luck in all of Gaia.

"Baku mentioned you had a map." said Beatrix.

"Yeah, that's right." said Blank, grinning. "A map of the Mist Continent. Baku has one, I have one, and Burlington and Bluegill, Lindblum's famous map designers and expert cartographers have neither. Anymore, anyway."

"Well where are we now?" Ruby asked.

"Hang on a sec." replied Blank, digging into his pants and pulling out a timeworn map. He held it up to whatever available light there was. The others crowded around to see. Blank started to point out the locations. "Let me see here..... that's Alexandria. And that's Lindblum." His hand moved slowly over to Evil Forest, at the base of the Alexandria Plateau. "And here's us.......smack in the middle of nowhere."

"Can you determine where we are in the forest?" Beatrix asked.

Blank feigned thinking about it for a moment. "Let's see, well, there's the rock, and over there's the hard place, and we're here right between the two. How about that?"

The look on Beatrix's face implied that while she _did have a sense of humor, it was currently on vacation._

"Look, I'm no Moogle." said Blank. "I only know how to survive outside, I don't know the whole continent like the back of my hand, you know."

Kuja snatched the map away from Blank, who yelled out, but Kuja just ignored him and examined the map. "What are you doing?" Beatrix demanded, but Kuja remained silent. Without warning, he held up his hand, which began to glow eerily. He held it up to the map, providing better illumination.

"Okay, that's weird...." Blank trailed off.

***

Garnet stirred, rising from unconsciousness like she was swimming up out of a dark and murky pond. She was lost in the post-awakening amnesia. She kept her eyes closed, believing she was back at the palace and in Zidane's loving arms.

Then her memories slowly began to return. Zidane wasn't here. She'd left him back at the palace. She was with Kuja now. He was going to escort her to Lindblum, but something was wrong. They hadn't made it to Lindblum after all. The escape ship had been attacked, and sunk below the Mist. Yes, she remembered now. Everything was in chaos. She hadn't known what to do, and just tried to hang on for dear life as the ship went in to crash. She'd been lucky, and escaped without even a scratch. 

She'd tried to help the others, but they were all unconscious or missing. She'd went to look around, to see where they were and maybe find help. And then what had happened?

She had gone too far, and gotten lost in the forest, wandering off the beaten path. She'd begun to fret, stumbling blindly around, lost in panic and tripped over a root sticking out of the ground. Then, when she'd tried to get back up, _something_ had grabbed her foot and begun to drag her. When she'd screamed, a plant close to her face, an ugly mauve color had sprayed her with a strange pollen and she'd passed out.

_Now where was she?_

Slowly, she opened her eyes…

And screamed.

***

"He's certainly a strange one." Ruby hissed under her breath.

"You don't know the half of it." Blank whispered. "He jumped from the top of South Gate and landed on the deck of the ship without a scratch to show for it. Didn't even put a pothole in the deck where he landed."

Beatrix listened to the hushed conversation, unsure whether or not to add that she herself had cut Kuja's heart wide open with one of her most powerful attacks and he had barely even bled.

"Perhaps he's a Sorcerer, or some other purveyor of Dark Magic." Beatrix mused, looking at Kuja who was sitting on the other side of the clearing, committing Blank's map to memory.

"That's one of the few things I'm not." He announced, not even looking up and startling them all. "But I do have above-excellent hearing also."

"I journeyed across the dangerous seas to the Forgotten Continent and stayed for two years in the Holy Temple of Esto Gaza, learning the lost Seiken spells from the monks there, so where did you learn your magic?" Beatrix asked, walking over to him.

"I don't know." Kuja replied, still not looking up. "I've had these skills for longer than I can remember. I don't know where I got them from or how."

Before Beatrix could speak again, she was cut off by a scream coming from the forest, somewhere off the East. "Was that who I think it was?" Blank asked, but Kuja, Beatrix and Ruby were already running in the direction the sound had come from. Blank drew his sword and bounded off after them.

***

Kuja exploded out of the bushes, with Beatrix hot on his heels. Ruby and Blank were lagging behind. Kuja leaped over a tree stump and the surprised Moogle who dwelt inside it. "Over there, Kupo!" it yelled, pointing in the direction the scream had come from. Across a murky lake there was a strange red light, filled with vines and a gigantic flower. 

Kuja drew a knife from his boot and tore through a thick section of vines covering the entrance to a cave. As the vines dropped dead, a sinister inhuman snarl of pain emanated from within the cave. Kuja looked back at Beatrix, who tightened her body armor and nodded that she was ready. 

They entered the cave, which abruptly turned left, down and under the lake they had seen the red light come from. At first they crept slowly, but dashed upon hearing a second scream coming from the end of the tunnel. They ran out of the tunnel and into a large opening in the cave. There, on a mound in the center sat a huge hideous plant, the Lord of the Forest itself. From its bulb, thousands of vines were spread, absolutely carpeting the entire cavern with its green mass and spreading it's roots throughout the entire forest.

And there, bound by vines on the wall behind it, was Garnet. The plant being was sprouting vile Venus Flytrap-like jaws and preparing to digest Garnet alive. "Your majesty!" Beatrix cried.

Kuja wasted no time. He threw the knife he had used to cut the vines earlier right into the plant's gelatinous flesh, grabbing its attention immediately. It screamed that horrifying scream again and turned its awareness away from Garnet entirely for the moment and focused on the two intruders. Kuja kept it at bay with a series of throwing blades, while Beatrix, who felt ineffective without her sword, charged across the cavern towards Garnet. 

The plant seemed to sense her movement, and immediately, one of the vines carpeting the ground raised and tripped her over. As she fell, two more vines appeared and wrapped themselves around her throat, lifting her off the ground as she struggled and gasped for air. Kuja responded by drawing his longest blade and cutting deep into the heart of the monster, an unsightly green and purple fluid gushing from the wound. As Kuja went to strike again, a vine shot out and knocked the blade from his hand. As he made to grab it, he was tripped over, and new vines began to wrap themselves around his arms and legs, dragging him out of reach of the blade.

Suddenly, the plant stirred. New voices were coming down the tunnel. "I'm tellin ya," said Blank, stepping into the tunnel with his back to the grim melee. "They had to have come down this tunnel, or my name ain't HOLY SHIT!!!"

Blank didn't waste a second upon turning. Over in the corner was Queen Garnet, looking severely dazed. Kuja had vines covering his limbs, dragging him across the ground, and General Beatrix was about to turn purple. As Blank dove into the skirmish, Ruby whimpered nervously and wished she had a weapon. 

Beatrix was closer, so Blank dashed to her first and cut the vines away from her throat. She dropped to the ground and he helped her up. "Thank you." She barely managed to gasp. She looked over at Kuja, being dragged towards the plant being's jaws. 

"Beatrix!" he yelled, managing to break an arm free and pull something from his clothing. "Catch!"

It was a sword. As he threw it across the cavern, Beatrix caught in mid-spin and realized it was _her_ sword, the Save The Queen. Kuja had had it with him the whole time. But she chose not to squander time thinking about it and immediately charged up a Seiken spell: her Stock Break attack, able to weaken enemies to the point of death by removing all but a fraction of the life force from their bodies.

As her blade began to glow heavenly, white light charged from the tip in multiple direction, turning the dark cavern bright as day. She leapt forward and plunged the blade straight into the heart of the monster. It screamed and fell silent. "Now, Blank!" she yelled, her power wasted. Blank pulled his sword up and cut the monster cleanly in two. As it fell to the ground, it crumbled like ash, as did the it's vines. They shriveled up and decomposed in seconds, the plant monster's death spreading throughout the forest.

Kuja began to stand up as the vines fell to dust around him, only for a new shadow to fall over him. Beatrix stood there. She didn't point her sword at him, but she didn't point it away either. As the two stared at each other, she eventually reached out a hand and helped her up. Despite everything, he _was_ a criminal. But he had saved her and Garnet, and that had to count for something, she thought.

That reminded her, and she walked away as Blank and Ruby walked over. "Hey, I guess you're not completely invulnerable after all." Blank chuckled away his nervousness. 

"What has led you to that conclusion?" Kuja replied sternly.

"Forget Blank, he's always dumb like that." said Ruby. "That was a pretty bitchin' beast. Ah was right scared there. Ah was so amazed y'all were able to handle it ya did."

Kuja merely nodded and looked over at Beatrix, who was helping Garnet to her feet. She had fallen when the vines had withered and was too weak to help herself up. 

"Oh my." muttered Ruby. "The Queen looks pretty bad. How is she?"

"I don't know." replied Beatrix, not looking up. "I think the plant monster may have sprayed her with a gas or something."

"Oh, right, that's it!" Blank yelled, snapping his fingers and making the others look at him. "I remember reading about this place before." he explained. "Some of the monsters in this forest reproduce–"

"– By planting seeds in other animals." Kuja finished for him. "And when the seeds sprout–"

"– It's hasta la vista: you become beef jerky, baby." Blank completed.

"Didn't we have something on the ship for it?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah!" yelled Blank. "It was some purple goo that's supposed to remove the Seeds from your body. Kuja, if you give me the map, I can find my way to the ship and–" Kuja thrust the bottle of purple liquid he had taken from the wreckage of the Prima Vista into Blank's hand. "–…find it. Right."

"Y'all get around, don't ya?" Ruby said to Kuja, grinning.

"I don't throw anything that looks useful." explained Kuja, coldly. 

"Explains why we're still with him then, I guess." Blank chuckled, preparing to administer the medicine to Garnet as Beatrix held her. "Here ya go, princess, down the hatch." Garnet coughed and spluttered on the horrible concoction. "Yeah, tastes as good as it looks." said Blank, helping her back to her feet.

"Are you alright, your majesty?" Beatrix asked.

"I feel..." she had meant to say nauseous, but the medicine had immediate effect, and she was beginning to pick up already. "…good."

"Alright, so, which way's the way out of here?" Blank asked anyone who might know.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake underfoot.

"Bugger." muttered Blank, now a firm believer the gods had pinned a note saying 'Kick Me' on his back. "What now?"

A big hole opened in the ground, where the plant monster had fallen, and two small bug creatures looking like a cross between a weed and a spider climbed out. A third one entered the cavern from the tunnel that the group had entered, and a lot more could be heard on their way, as if coming to avenge their king.

"This isn't good." Ruby announced.

"Is there any way out of here?" Garnet asked.

Blank frantically looked around for an exit, his eyes only falling on Ruby. "There must be some way out of here!" said the joker to the thief.

Kuja charged all his energies into his fist and pounded a gaping hole in the wall with one colossal punch. "There is now!" he cried. "Let's go, MOVE!"

Beatrix and Garnet ran fist, Beatrix grabbing her by the hand and leading ahead. Ruby, then Blank and Kuja followed them hot on their heels.

"Something is wrong!" Kuja yelled. "This shouldn't be happening!"

Behind them, the noise of stampeding spider creatures began to number in the thousands. "Right!" Blank yelled back. "Maybe they're not after us! Maybe they're running from something!"

Neither of them looked back. Doing so would be suicidal, so they put all their strength into running. However, they soon noticed that the trees and plants on either side of the path they ran on were changing color, becoming gray and dense.

"The place is petrifying!" Blank realized. "It must have been when we killed the plant thing! It's vines stretched all over the entire forest!" Kuja didn't reply, and concentrated his power into running. He shot forward, as did Blank, feeling he had never run so fast in his life. They soon saw light at the end of the forest, and made for it, giving their all into one last effort.

In the final dash, they saw Beatrix, Garnet and Ruby standing outside the forest, looking for them. "_INCOMING_!!!" Blank yelled, and he and Kuja exploded out of the forest. Kuja skidded to a halt as Blank rolled and flipped over and over on the ground before finally coming to halt. Ruby helped him up, dizzy and spinning. "Blank, are you okay?"

"That's right, Wendy." he replied, his eyes spinning. "It's five minutes to the top of the hour and coming next is Paul Hewson with the news and weather reports, but first here's Davey Robert Jones and The King Bees with 'I Dig Everything'…"

"You're weird." Ruby responded, and let him drop back to the ground.

***

It was many hours later, and still in the depths of the night. Kuja sat in front of a long-burning fire, quiet as the night around him. The forest and all the monsters in it were now just so much solid rock, leaving the night air devoid of sound. Blank slept in a sleeping bag opposite, and Garnet and Beatrix slept in a small tent, which Ruby emerged from. 

"Mah watch." she said. "Not like there's much to lookout for, ah reckon."

Kuja nodded. "They're all petrified."

"You think Tantalus got out?" Ruby wondered.

Kuja merely shrugged. At that moment, the fire crackled and flared, throwing light across their faces. Ruby saw Kuja's eyes catch the light and reflect it, just like a cat's. "So, where are you from?" she asked regardless.

"I don't know."

"Don't you remember your childhood?" Ruby inquired.

"No." Kuja answered. He didn't remember anything of his past before the blue light. He didn't tell her that a strange blue light was the earliest thing he could remember. He did tell her, though, about how the other earliest thing was wandering the streets of Lindblum, only aware of his name and his powers. He knew nothing of his past or where he had come from. The people who found him thought he might have been a survivor of a shipwreck washed ashore, as the docks of Lindblum was where he first appeared. But Kuja had never served nor been on a ship before. He was mystified. It was like he had just fallen out of the sky.

He wandered the streets of Lindblum for a long time, and with the use of his powers, he earned money, food and shelter by working as a bouncer in some of the rougher parts of town, before his skills were seen by the head of the city's underground Assassin's Guild. He was invited to join and seemed to fit right in, as if it was a skill he had been born for. But still he knew nothing of his past. Only the blue light, his name, his powers, and the name of someone else…

Zidane.

It was someone's name, someone he didn't know. Someone he thought he'd never find until last night in Alexandria when he had taken Garnet. Then he had seen the young duke in the royal box look at him knowingly, and he had known instantly that he was Zidane. 

And that Zidane was meant to be feared.

***

"Morning." said Ruby, cheerfully.

Blank looked at the dark sky, and the gloomy surroundings. "its _morning_?" he said, confused. He felt like he'd been woken in the middle of the night.

"The sun can barely penetrate the thickness of the Mist." Kuja explained. "Once we get to higher ground, you'll see."

"So just how _do_ we get out of this valley?" Blank asked.

"According to a map, there's a cave not far from here. It leads upwards through the mountains, and lets out above the Mist." Kuja explained.

"What a minute." said Beatrix, exerting her authority. "You've saved us before, but I still don't feel that I can trust you. My duty is to protect my Queen, and I–"

"Then protect me." Garnet interrupted.

"…Your majesty?"

"I left the castle of my own free will." Garnet explained, brushing a strand of hair from her eyes. "There's something very important I need to take care of in Lindblum, and Kuja was sent to escort me. But if you would like to do his job, I trust you with that."

Beatrix stood still, as if trying to decide what to say back. "The world outside Alexandria is dark and dangerous, my lady…"

"Then I'm lucky to have you, Kuja and…" Garnet trailed off, looking at the Elven-looking guy and the girl in the princess outfit. "Um, I'm sorry, I don't believe I've gotten your names?"

"Ruby." said Blank.

"And Blank." Ruby finished. "Although not in that order."

"I see." said Garnet. "Well, if I need protection, I have indeed got a lot of it, have I not?"

Beatrix sighed. Garnet's orders superceded all else. "Very well." she agreed. "I will help take you to Lindblum, but once we get there I shall requisition an airship and we shall return to Alexandria."

"Just what I was planning." said Garnet with a smile.

"Okay," said Ruby, stepping over to Kuja who was studying the map. "So, which way is it to this cave?"

"A short few miles North of here." replied Kuja. "We should set off as soon as possible."

"Wait." muttered Beatrix, looking at the map. "We're here, yes? The cave is North of us, and Lindblum is South. What about when we emerge on the other side of cavern, how will we get to Lindblum then?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." said Blank.

"No." said Kuja strictly. "The bridge is East of here, it would put an extra day on hour journey."

"No, I didn't mean…" Blank began as the others began to pack up and walk away. "Hey, wait!" he went to follow them, but stopped and looked back at the petrified forest. "Hope you got out, guys." he whispered, and set off after the others. They left the edge of the forest within minutes and were soon out, wandering across the gloomy valleys of the Mist Continent. Their journey had only begun, but not one of them could have imagined that it would be longer and greater than they could have expected in their wildest dreams…

*~*~*~*~*~*


	3. Up The Hill Backwards

Chapter III; "Up The Hill Backwards"

Chapter III; "Up The Hill Backwards"
    
    _ _
    
    _The vacuum created by the arrival of freedom_
    
    _And the possibilities it seems to offer_

_It's got nothing to do with you, if one can't grasp it…_

- David Bowie, "Up The Hill Backwards"

**_Ice Cavern_**

"I think this is it." Blank called from the front of a cave entrance. Icy-blue haze and mist radiated outwards from it, as did a biting chill. Ruby cast her eyes upwards. The top of the sheer mountain disappeared beyond the thick mantle of Mist that carpeted the whole continent.

"So, we gotta go through these here caves, to get above the Mist," she reviewed. "Then figure out how to cross the Mist from above, right?"

"Right." said Kuja, rolling the map into a tube and popping it into his boot. He stepped past Blank to the very beginnings of the cavern, deciding he should take point. Garnet jogged up beside him, looking around in fascination. He looked at her but said nothing. Beatrix stood behind her, eternally on guard.

"Your majesty?" Beatrix began.

"Oh." said Garnet, turning around as if snapped out of a trance. "My apologies." She waved a hand at the vast and silent crystal caves. "The Ice Cavern. I've heard of it, read about it in books from the castle library. It's supposed to be a beautiful place, covered in ice." She turned away from them and looked at it again. "But to see it with my own eyes, what a beautiful place! Seeing the actual cavern is so much better than reading about it!"

She knelt down and gazed at a strange crystalline flower.

"You've read a lot of stuff in books then, I take it?" hazarded Blank.

"…Everything I know about the outside world…" Garnet said softly. Ruby sighed, feeling what the others didn't feel. Garnet was the Queen of Alexandria, supposedly the land of the free, but she was it's prisoner. So many other people took the ability to just go out into the world for granted. But now, it was like being paroled after a Life sentence. Garnet was a prisoner released. A jailbird free. A canary out of it's cage.

"Well hey, If y'all think this place is stunning," she blurted. "Just ya wait til we get outside! Ah've been around da Mist Continent a fair bit in my time. Ah'll show ya all kinds of stuff, y'all will have a great time, ah reckon!"

Garnet smiled from ear to ear at just the thought of this. Beatrix, silent as she was, however, cursed Ruby for giving the Queen this false hope, and cursed herself that it was her duty that kept that hope false.

"Let's get moving." Kuja said, as cold as the cavern around him. Blank shivered, nodded and followed him. "It's okay for the ladies, they're well covered up, but you and me, we're not exactly clad in winter gear here."

Kuja sighed at Blank's complaining, stopped and pressed his hands together. A small orange sphere began to grow from within, then expanded to encompass both he and Blank, then faded away. The first thing Blank felt was serene warmth from within, and in this cavern, it felt _good_.

"Happy?" Kuja asked.

"Very much so."

"Good."

***

The group pressed onwards through the caves, leading steadily upwards. Blank had moaned that they seemed endless, and Garnet pointed out that it was because they were walking up a mountain from inside, and was bound to be a long journey.

But it was true that the cavern felt endless. In a lot of places, the ice was as good as glass, and in others a mirror, reflecting and refracting the layout of the tunnels like a kaleidoscope. At one point they came to what seemed like a dead end, a wall of pure glass-like ice barricading the path ahead. As they stood there gazing at their reflections, Kuja examined it thoroughly, sometimes drumming on the ice with his fist.

As he scrutinized the ice wall, Ruby looked at her reflection. _At long last, Ah've been swept off my feet and caught up in a whirlwind adventure_, she thought. _And Ah end up wearing this Bo Peep outfit. This is SO embarrassing. Ah'm changing the instant we arrive at a town._

Suddenly, Blank's head appeared on her shoulder. "Don't worry, ma'am." he said in a funny voice. "We'll find your sheep. We've got a suspect, too. We think it was a rebel sheep, trying to lead a revolution, and knowing sheep they're bound to follow him."

Ruby rolled her eyes, but didn't push him away. "Blank, get a girlfriend."

"I'm working on it." he assured.

"Oh, in your dreams."

"I'm serious." he joked, looking at their reflection. "We'd be a great couple. Think about our kids! They could have your looks and my brains."

"Are y'all sure your brains is something to wish on a kid?" she stifled a laugh and shoved him away.

Meanwhile, Garnet crouched next to Kuja. "What's wrong?" she asked. "Are we going to have to turn back?"

"No, this is the right way." Kuja replied. "This wall is artificial." He then pointed footsteps on the other side of the wall. They led away from the wall but not towards it. Whoever formed this wall, he been going one way, and must have formed it behind him.

"Can you get us through it?" Garnet asked, as Blank and Ruby stopped talking and paid attention. Beatrix stopped leaning against the cave wall and took notice as Kuja and Garnet stood up.

"I think I can break through with a bit of help." Kuja mused, stroking his bottom lip with his finger. It wasn't the problem that was on his mind, it was wondering who had left this obstacle for them. Someone knew the route they were taking. Someone knew they were here.

Ruby mock-saluted. "Ah would formally like to volunteer Blank's head!" she giggled.

Blank tapped his noggin with his index finger, playing along with the joke. "Just because we're short on Dwarf Bread, you wanna settle for second best, huh? No dice!"

Kuja ignored them and pressed his hands to the ice wall. Almost instantly it liquefied to slush and trickled back down the path they had come. "Let's move on." he urged. Garnet followed him, followed by Blank and Ruby with Beatrix bringing up the rear. She quickly checked and made sure the frost wouldn't make her blade stick in a clinch. Although she had remained silent throughout, she had paid attention to detail, and noticed that the ice wall had indeed been set for them round about the same time as Kuja.

Like him, she knew to keep her wits about now that someone was stalking their trail.

***

They stepped out of a tunnel and into a fierce wind and biting snowstorm. Even through Kuja's heat spell they could feel the chill. Garnet looked upwards. She could see dark clouds in the sky, but she knew it wasn't Mist, they were too high up for that. If they were able to get past one last vertical rim of the mountain, they'd be on the mountain's external side. But that meant that first they would have to head in the direction the blizzard was coming from.

"Everyone stay behind me!" Kuja yelled above the howling wind. "Single file!"

They pressed through the raging storm; Kuja followed by Garnet, then Beatrix, Ruby and finally Blank. As they trudged through the blizzard, Ruby felt Blank fall behind. She turned round and as the wind whipped her hair in front of her eyes saw Blank staggering as if dizzy. "Blank!" she yelled. "Hurry up! You don't wanna get lost in this storm!"

"I'm coming!" he called back, groggy. "But first I need to lie down for a while." he said, sinking to his knees. "I feel very…" Before he could finish, he fell forward and toppled over an embankment.

"Blank!" 

Ruby charged over to the embankment and leaped down to him. Her yell alerted the others, who turned back and rushed over to her. When they got to her, she was already asleep, lying over Blank. "What's going on?" Garnet wondered aloud, but felt herself slip away as she did. Beatrix caught her as she fell forward. She stared at Kuja with her one eye before falling asleep herself. Kuja stood over them, wondering why he wasn't affected. This couldn't be coincidence. He had expected to meet whatever foe was on their trail, but he hadn't expected the loss of his support to be targeted first. Of course, he preferred working alone, but usually his enemies didn't count on that.

He climbed out of the embankment, checked his armor and kept several throwing blades at the ready. He decided the likely place to find his foe would be at the epicenter of this artificial maelstrom. He began to move, then stopped and turned back to face his unconscious companions. They would be safe in the embankment, out of the wind and out of the sight of enemies. He cast a warmth spell over them and stepped into the storm.

At first he thought it was his imagination, but as he made his way through the blizzard, he could hear a bell ringing in the wind. "Who's there?" he called out in anger.

He rounded a corner and came to where the storm was calmest. He found himself staring at a frozen waterfall and frowned. Waterfalls can't freeze. Small, slow ones can in a flash freeze on the coldest days of the year, but not twenty foot high ones that fell into what looked like a hot spring. He was looking at an impossibility. Whoever had done this was skilled in Ice Magic to a degree Kuja had never thought possible. The same person who had blocked their path.

"Come on out." he ordered, drawing a blade. "I know you're there."

The answer came in a cackling laugh. "You didn't fall asleep," it said. "I was warned that might happen."

Before Kuja could look for the voice's owner, it appeared right before his very eyes. It looked like the little Blue Mage Kuja had seen with Zidane back at Alexandria Castle, and for an instant, Kuja wondered if it was the same Mage. But no, this one was three times as big, and had sprouted evil crow's wings on it's back. It's eyes were mere slits and blazed with a seemingly unquenchable thirst for death.

"Who or what in the Seven Hells are you?!?!" Kuja growled, looking just as threatening and sinister. "You're the one causing this blizzard, aren't you?!"

"Hee hee, correct!" the dark Mage sniggered. "I am the Black Waltz! Programming; Terminate Kuja – Rescue Queen Garnet!"

"Programmed by who?" Kuja demanded, but the Black Waltz replied only by firing a stream of lethal ice blades towards him. Kuja ducked out of the way with the reflexes of a cat, three blades already poking out between his fingers by their tips. He swung his arm around and let the blades fly right at the Black Waltz's head and heart. 

The Sorcerer didn't even move. It stood it's ground as the blades sliced through the air towards it. At the last instant, it's feet seemed to stay motionless while it's upper body twisted and dodged too fast to be seen by the naked eye.

Kuja stood in awe. It had been a perfect kill shot, and he had hit nothing but air. And now he was a sitting duck for the Black Waltz, who didn't waste time in flinging a whole series of icicles at him. Kuja couldn't spare an instant. Thought became motion. He fell backwards as time began to slow, as if the air became thicker somehow. He felt out-of-body, and could feel the entire world around him, spinning in a pure unbroken arc. The icicles flew past him, he could feel and even hear them tearing the air as they scraped him by mere microns.

Then instant they were beyond him, Kuja relaxed his energies. Time and space snapped back to normal, and Kuja hit the ground, dazed, his power spent.

"Impressive." the Mage cackled. "None can master the arts of Haste and Slow and combine them so well as you do. It's such a pity you have to die, when you consider the magic we could extract from you."

"Extract THIS!!!" Kuja yelled, flinging a bag of a rare explosive powder at the Black Waltz's feet. It barely had time to see it coming before it was consumed in the explosion. Kuja got to his feet, panting heavily. He dusted himself off. The battle had drained him. He'd fought with all his power, pushing himself to his limit and was now completely at the borderline.

And it wasn't over…

Kuja turned and stared at the Black Waltz, seemingly as indestructible as he was. It was on fire, but didn't seem to care. The fact that it was a walking inferno only seemed to enrage it. "No more games…" it growled, and began to perform a summon-like spell. "Sea Lion! Destroy this abomination!!!"

The frozen ice of the waterfall then began to twist and turn, taking the shape of some strange beast of ice, armored, razored and nearly twenty feet tall. It roared at Kuja, piercing his eardrums with the sonic blast. It sounded like knives scraping glass played through an amplifier. Kuja staggered back in pain. As he did, the ice beast lunged towards him and sliced him across the chest with it's taloned arms. Kuja cried out and was thrown into the mountain wall. Dizzily, he saw splashes of his crimson blood on the snow, strangely a strawberry-like color on the snow. Steam rose from the burgundy stains on the snow, and for a moment Kuja wondered if he could have been mortally wounded indeed. Reassuringly, he gripped his chest and found that indeed, there was no longer any sign of a wound. Not even a trace of a scar. But he did still feel the lingering aftertaste of pain. His power had been completely maxed out, he was at his limit, and the Black Waltz and his monster were not going to stop trying to crush him from existence. 

"Sea-Lion!" the Black Waltz cackled insanely. "Bring me his head! Tear his arms and legs off before you do!"

"Stay away from me." Kuja warned as the beast made towards him. He was drained, but now he could feel a power rising in him, and that could only mean one thing; It was going to happen again. He hated when this happened. He felt like a monster, like a werewolf or vampire of legend. He always felt a lack of control, and there was no telling what could happen.

"Destroy him!" the Black Waltz cackled, and Sea-Lion screamed and bound towards Kuja, who stood his ground, crying out as he was lifted off his feet and an eerie red glow surrounded him. He clutched his body, feeling nauseous as the transformation began, his body changing itself. The Black Waltz halted it's laughter, and even Sea-Lion stopped dead in it's tracks. Kuja began to change before their very eyes. His skin stayed pure as snow, but his hair grew longer and wilder, and became a shock or burning red, covering a large amount of his body. He seemed to take on an avian appearance in some places; there seemed to be red feathers blended in with his hair. His skin gave the impression that it had bonded with his armor, making him look larger than he actually was. And to end with, he had grown a tail. It was a mixture of red and black fur, and snaked out behind him, swishing steadily from side to side.

The Black Waltz had not been prepared for this, and didn't even know what to expect. 

Kuja could feel it, but couldn't control it. Power burning within him. The capacity to destroy, unmatched by any other. The power to shatter moons and split planets in half rushed through his bloodstream. The desire, no, the _need_ to destroy, burn, kill maim and obliterate everything in his path was greater than the need for air to live. This darkness consumed him, like he was burning in a fire. The power needed release. It craved destruction.

Kuja fixed his eyes on the Black Waltz and it's monster. His rage and hunger for destruction focused itself, and his eyes shifted from blue to blazing red. His power burned, focused, concentrated and reached critical mass. Kuja roared a primal scream as the explosion engulfed the side of the mountain, shattering it in a white-hot blast of explosive magic. The Black Waltz and Sea Lion never even had time to scream as they were vaporized within a heartbeat.

When it was over, rock and debris rolled to a halt and eventually rested. Kuja floated down, landing back on his feet softly. The desire for destruction was satisfied, he was in control again, even though his body remained in this form. He looked around, feeling utter contempt for himself. The whole side of the mountain was obliterated, leaving only the crater he stood in. The blizzard was gone, along with the Sorcerer that had caused it. Kuja could see the daylight, the mountains above the Mist, and a village not very far away in the distance.

He looked at his hands in despair and self-loathing. Red with fur, feathers and claws they were. Barely a semblance of the human he believed he was. He reached behind him and grabbed his tail, wringing it with his hands as a solitary dripped down his cheek. This was the final symbol, the thing that ultimately declared that he was no human, the part of him he always made sure to hide beneath his clothing.

He was stirred from his despair by a voice. Someone calling his name. Beatrix. Either the explosion or the death of the Black Waltz had awakened them, and now they were looking for him. "No," he gasped. "You can not see me like this."

Just as Beatrix and Garnet rounded the corner, Kuja used his animalistic attributes and vaulted high up to the top of the mountain and completely out of their sight.

***

"Any sign of him?" Blank asked. Beatrix shook her head. They had been awakened from their induced sleep by a loud bang, and when they climbed out of the embankment, they found the blizzard gone, along with the whole section of the mountain it had been coming from.

By studying the footprints around the embankment, Beatrix was able to deduce that Kuja had not fallen asleep like they did. His footprints led towards the crater, but now he was nowhere to be found.

"Does anyone have an idea what may have befallen him?" Garnet asked, but the others just shook their heads.

"What if he's dead?" Ruby wondered aloud.

Beatrix shook her head, remembering how she had inflicted a mortal wound on him, and he hadn't even been scratched. "I think he's alive. We should probably wait here for him to return."

"I concur." said Garnet.

It wasn't until an hour later that Kuja did return. His body had returned to it's normal form. He must have been watching them the whole time, waiting for his Trance form to wear off. He told them about the Black Waltz but said absolutely nothing about his transformation. He told them he had fought the Black Waltz, and it had tried to kill him in the massive explosion, but only succeeded in destroying itself. Kuja had been thrown from the mountain in the blast and had spent the last hour walking back here.

"We're wasting daylight." he said. "The sooner we get to Lindblum the better."

"Sure." said Blank. "There's a village not far from here. Ruby's been there before. Let's head for there and see if they can help us get to Lindblum."

"Cool, Ah get to lead for once." said Ruby with a grin. "Ah've been there before, alrighty. Just a quiet little hick town called Dali, Ah think. The people there're good folks, f'sure." 

They left the crater, and were soon past the mountain and it's caverns. They were finally above the Mist again. It was a clear day, hardly a cloud in the sky, and the sun was shining bright overhead.

"There's the village." Blank pointed out, now they had regained sight of it.

"Well, that's odd." said Ruby.

"What is?"

"See those patterns on the ground?" Ruby indicated. "They weren't there last time I was here."

"When was that?" asked Blank.

"Ah dunno. 'Bout a year ago, ah reckon."

"Kuja…" Garnet spoke suddenly but softly. Everyone stopped and turned to look at her.

"What is it?" he asked.

"You and Beatrix believe we're being stalked, am I correct?"

Beatrix and Kuja looked at each other. "I… think that someone knows we're out here and is intent on tracking us down, yes, and their motives are less than honorable. I think someone knows that the Queen of Alexandria is outside of her kingdom and in a vulnerable position." _But how?_ he thought. This was an extremely top-secret mission. Nobody else knew about it. There was only one possibility, and that the Black Waltz had been sent by Alexandria, but that was preposterous. Who would do such a thing?

"It would appear that we'll have to guard the Queen and our journey a lot closer." Beatrix said to Kuja. "I trust you, and I'm willing to work together if you are. You've proved yourself honorable, despite your profession."

Kuja nodded. "We'll have to travel with the Queen incognito. Nobody can know who you are, your majesty."

"You mean, a false identity?" Garnet asked. To Beatrix, she actually sounded exited at the prospect.

"Sure." said Blank. "You'll be needing a false name, of course, and you'll have to act a lot more casual. Like, you shouldn't walk so regal, and, well, _royal_ all the time. Try to walk a little more casual like me."

Blank demonstrated, walking up and down, swinging his arms slightly and trying to act as casual as possible.

"I shall try." Garnet replied, stifling a giggle.

"Oh, that'll have to go too." Ruby pointed out.

"I beg your pardon?"

Ruby sighed and frowned in thought. "Try not to sound so posh, either. Remember, y'all are supposed to be just a country girl now. So try to talk more like da rest of us."

"You mean, talk like you?" Garnet asked.

"Abso-frickinfrackin-lutely!" Ruby laughed.

Garnet paused for a moment and lowered her eyes, trying it out in her head. From the looks of it, it was quite an effort. "Ah reckon…" she said finally, and almost everyone went wide-eyed. "…that you – that _y'all_ t'ink Ah shore ought to, _oughta_ talk a lot more laak dis?"

Silence hung in the air for a few moments. Beatrix's one eye was as wide as it could possibly get. Ruby was the first to speak. "Well, that's… _pretty good_." she said. "Tell ya whut, for now, why don't ya try to talk a bit more like Blank for the time being?"

"I understand." said Garnet, back to her normal voice.

"No, it's 'gotcha'." Blank corrected, grinning.

"G-gotcha."

"You're doing great."

Beatrix turned to Kuja. "I've never wanted to get to Lindblum so fast before in all my life." she whispered.

"And finally." said Ruby. "Y'all need a false name."

"What's wrong with my name?" Garnet asked.

"Yeah." Ruby backed up.

"Nothing." said Kuja. "It's just that someone out there is looking for a lady called Garnet. If anyone hears us refer to her as Garnet, or she introduces herself as Garnet, that's a lead for our pursuers to follow. She needs an alias."

Garnet thought about it for a moment. "What about… Cornelia?"

Blank made a farting noise with his tongue and gave it the thumbs-down, startling her. "No way. Still too posh."

Garnet thought again. "…Aerith?"

"Sounds like y'all got a lisp." Ruby dismissed.

"Angua?"

"Sounds foreign." rejected Blank.

"Leia?"

"Sounds Burmecian." said Kuja. "And you're not Burmecian."

"Celes?"

"That's _my_ middle name, your majesty."

"Oh, pardon me, Beatrix. I, uh, mean, Sorry Beatrix. How about …Kate?"

Blank shook his head, and Garnet sighed in frustration.

"Think." said Kuja. "People don't usually get to choose their names. Your name has to be something that helps define you, an extension of your personality, not just a name at random because you think it sounds pretty. A part of you."

Garnet took his advice as she thought. She was free now, free of her life in the castle. She was Garnet no longer. She was leaving Garnet and all that went with it in her life behind for a while. Instead of being who she was, she could now choose what she wanted to be. But she wanted just one thing to take with her. A memory. Something to bridge her past and her future. Something of her true love, her one happiness in her caged life. She thought of Zidane's crest, a white crow emblazoned in front of a pair of twin daggers. She remembered he loved to show off his skill with the dagger.

"I've thought about it." she said finally. "And I've decided. And there's no changing it this time, okay? I've decided! From now on, my name is..." she looked at them, ready for their verdict. "…Dagger."

Beatrix blinked. It certainly was…unique.

Kuja allowed himself a grin. Naming herself after a weapon. If Kuja used words like "cool", he would have used it. 

"Ah like it." Ruby stated. "So, here we are, the five of us; Kuja, Beatrix, Ruby, Blank and Dagger. What a gang!"

"S'a good name, Garnet." said Blank. "Dagger, sorry."

Dagger smiled, happy with her pseudonym. Truth be told, she liked it a lot better than 'Garnet'. 'Queen Dagger', now _that_ had a ring to it.

"Let's go, _Dagger_." sighed Beatrix, tapping her on the shoulder and leading her down the mountain path with the others, heading towards the village.

*~*~*~*~*~*


	4. Rebel Rebel

Village of Dali Wesley Shier Normal Wesley Shier 1 1 2001-10-31T19:13:00Z 2001-10-31T19:14:00Z 10 7021 40025 333 80 49153 9.4402 

_Chapter IV: "Rebel Rebel"___

Village of Dali

Dali was quite possibly the quietest town in all the multiverse, excluding probably perhaps villages with it's water supply poisoned by a ruthless homicidal maniac with the fashion sense only a tailor of the color-blind quality could like, or villages built next to a nuclear reactor in a country that gave the world quite possibly the longest-running political system known to man that doesn't work.

That being said, Dali was neither of those, but it was a place where even the term "One-horse Town" wasn't nearly as applicable as 'The one horse is now dead and as we sit out on our porches in rocking chairs and wait for the photo-finish of the tumbleweed racing results to come in, it'll probably be a couple of generations before anyone actually even wonders what the smell is coming from the barn' kind of town.

Though quiet, it was a lovely place. As the group strode into town, they could see a small group of young children playing at the other end of the village. There was only a small collection of houses, barely five or so. One was a bar, the other a general store, one had a windmill on top, the other looked like a normal house and the one closest to them was…

"Ah! An Inn!" exclaimed Blank.

"Will wonders never cease?" Ruby asked nobody in particular. "And we'd never have found it without Blank's ability to state the obvious."

"It's nice to be useful for _something_." Blank sighed, kicking a stone.

"I'll go see about booking a room for the night." said Kuja. "Feel free to look around, but don't go too far."

Beatrix nodded and turned to Dagger. "With your permission, your maj– …_Dagger_, I'd like to see about booking passage on an airship. We passed by an observation post on the way here. There would be a good place to inquire."

"As you wish…" Dagger began, then noticed Ruby frowning at her. "Um… oh yes, …_Knock yerself out_!"

Ruby smiled as Beatrix sighed, and also fought the urge to salute before walking away, back across the grassy fields and towards the outcrop of rock that served as an observatory.

Dagger watched her go, then turned and looked at the village again with a smile on her face. "So, this is a part of my kingdom?"

"You don't know?" Blank asked.

Dagger blushed apologetically. "I'm afraid like I've told you before, I only know of the outside world what I've seen in books and maps and globes." she said, blissfully unaware that most 16-year-olds are like that regardless of class or creed.

"Oh, Ah see. In common-talk, it's "Ah don' get out much." Ruby laughed. Dagger laughed too, as much for her as for her newfound freedom. Blank suddenly felt outnumbered, the odd man out, figuratively speaking, and felt the urge to look around solo.

"I'm gonna go look around." he said, and walked off, leaving the two girls. _Were it not for their radically different looks, those two could have been sisters_, he thought. _Well, they're both good-looking, just in different ways. Well, Garnet/Dagger is pretty hot, anyway. That Zidane fella is a lucky guy. Well, that's royalty for you, I guess. What am I saying?! I'm a thief! You should never get ideas above your station, and my station is Git Central! Mind you, Ruby's very attractive, too. We could be great together if we only got on…_

"Huh?"

Blank stopped dead in his tracks and realized he'd wandered outside of the village. There was a strange trapdoor on the ground near him, and nobody around at all. Slowly, it began to open. Blank let instinct take over, and ducked into a small vegetable garden, hiding behind the tall corn stalks. The door opened fully, and two Alexandrian soldiers stepped out and saluted each other.

"Alexandrian soldiers?" he hissed to himself. "Here…?"

***

"So it's on it's way?" Zidane mused, staring at the monster in front of him.

"Released it has been!" replied Thorn. "On it's way, it is!" echoed Zorn.

"Fine, fine." said Zidane, barely paying them a thought. He was still staring at the lifeless creature towering over him. "If you're wondering why I'm saying nothing about your failure, don't." he said with his back to the jesters. "I didn't really expect the Black Waltz to be very effective. I just needed it to test the water."

"Black Waltz number 2 _will_ succeed!" proclaimed Zorn. "Succeed, Blank Waltz 2 will!" mirrored Thorn.

"Even so, I like to make sure all my bases are loaded." muttered Zidane. "This one has to be three times as powerful as both 1 and 2 combined, is that understood?"

"_Five_ times as powerful it already is!" said one of them. Zidane didn't care which. "And all it needs is to be infused with Mist to begin living, correct?"

"And programmed with orders."

"But other than that, everything's set?" Zidane asked, resting a hand on his belt.

"Ready to go, everything is!" "Everything is ready to go!"

"Good." Zidane replied, then without even turning around, drew the twin daggers from his belt and plunged them deep into the chests of the jester twins, right through the hearts and, since their bodies were so thin, out the other side. He removed the daggers and the annoying duo dropped to the ground as lifeless as the monsters they had created for him. Zidane paused only to look at his reflection in the blade, soaked in dark blood.

"Garnet." he sighed and closed his eyes. "Please be alright. I'll find you. No matter what, I promise you, I _will_ find you." He opened his eyes again and looked up the ready-to-live Black Waltz. "There are just some things I must do first."

Grabbing the bodies of Zorn and Thorn, Zidane left the hidden room and made his way secretly through Alexandria Castle towards the moat. Heaving, he flung the pair over the side and down into the murky water. He watched them pathetically float away, out of the castle and towards the Alexandria Falls. They were never missed.

"My Lord!" Steiner yelled from behind him. Zidane went wide-eyed but didn't turn around. Had _Steiner_ of all people spotted him!?!? Zidane stealthily began to draw his dagger, hidden. "What is it?" he asked.

"My Lord, I bring you news about the Queen."

Zidane relaxed and turned round, Steiner never seeing him sheath the dagger. "Oh?" he said, his tone never betraying him.

"We sent airships out to investigate, and they spotted wreckage of the Prima Vista in the Evil Forest. None of the crew, the kidnappers nor the Queen could be found."

"They've long gone." Zidane replied. "But don't worry. I think I might now what country is behind this plot and sent those agents to kidnap your fair Queen…"

***

"Wow, a windmill." Dagger breathed, staring upwards.

Ruby tried to feel as enthusiastic about it, but then again, she couldn't be. She hadn't had Dagger's life, locked up in a castle for 16 years that enabled her to be fascinated by a simple windmill. Either that or Dagger seemed to be afflicted with the notorious "Don Quixote gene" of genetic research lore.

Shrugging off her Sancho Panza role, Ruby slapped her forehead and realized what was missing. "Dagger," she said. "Can we go look in that shop? _Ah really_ need to get changed out of this costume!"

"Oh, sure, absolutely." Dagger replied. "I'd like to see what buying clothes is like. I've never seen it before."

Ruby stopped. "You're 16-year-old girl and yall've _never_ been shopping for clothes?"

Dagger looked apprehensive, placing her hands behind her back. "Um, no. When I lived in the castle, my parents had all my clothes tailor-made for me, out of materials imported from Lindblum, Treno and Burmecia."

"Well, don't worry." Ruby said smiling. "Ah'm sure this place won't have that, but it'll be good enough anyways."

***

Kuja had thought the Innkeeper suspicious the moment he had set eyes on him, and was glad Dagger and the others had stayed outside. He was trying to act normal, but his eyes betrayed him. He was looking at Kuja ass if wondering whether or not he fit a description he had heard.

Kuja had settled on a price for a room for five for one night, then left to find Dagger, Ruby and Blank. he found Dagger and Ruby in the general store. The two girls and the shopkeeper, Eve, were all looking ecstatic about Ruby's new clothes. She had sold her costume (Eve would probably end up using the material) and had changed into a frilly white silk shirt like Dagger wore under her orange jumpsuit, and a green skirt that went with the emerald half of her hair, and white leggings under it. She also wore white gloves, a leather belt and a black choker on her neck.

"It's really you." stated Eve. "What do you think, Dagger."

"It's really neat." Dagger replied, imitating Eve.

"Oh, hi Kuja." said Ruby. "Like the outfit?"

"Lovely." Kuja said coldly. "I booked a room at the Inn. Where's Beatrix and Blank?"

"Beatrix isn't back yet." Dagger replied, her common-speech coming along well. "As for Blank, he went off alone."

"Where?" 

"Um, I didn't see, did you?"

Ruby shook her head and paid Eve. "Pr'haps we oughta go look for him?"

"I'm all finished here." said Eve.

"Thank you most kindly." Dagger said gratefully.

"Don't mention it, it was fun." As they talked, an Oglop scuttled across the floor of the shop. Eve brought a boot down on it, making Garnet gasp. "Bloody parasites." muttered Eve.

"Speech-wise, y'all're doin' fine." said Ruby, laying a hand on Dagger's style. "As far as 'Just another country girl' goes, ya still need practice."

Dagger sighed, nodded and followed Ruby and Kuja to the door.

***

"Halt!" someone shouted at them the instant they were out the door. Dagger gasped and Kuja frowned as they found themselves staring at two Alexandrian soldiers pointing spears at them. "What do you think?" one of them said to the other. "Are these the renegades who kidnapped the Queen?"

"Keep quiet." Ruby whispered to Dagger, who nodded faintly, staring at the spears.

"Let's see your I.D." one of the soldiers said, stepping forward. Kuja waved a hand, speaking softly and the soldiers paused as if locked in a daze. "You don't need to see my I.D."

"That's okay, we don't need to see your I.D." the soldier said in a neutral tone.

Kuja waved a hand discreetly again. "These are not the renegades you're looking for."

"These are not the renegades we're looking for." said the other soldier. The two of them withdrew their spears, turned and left the village, heading back to Alexandria castle.

"How did you _do that_?" Dagger gasped.

Kuja allowed himself a small grin. "I'm not sure." he said, looking at his hand, then back at her. "The power of suggestion. If I concentrate hard enough, I can influence weak minds slightly. On a good day, I can also move small objects. Little much bigger than a coin, though."

Ruby remembered his story from the previous night, and felt a wave of pity for this man with strange powers and no past. Those powers probably were wonderful to have, but it must be a cost of sleepless nights when you think about how they separate you from other people, and you don't even have an explanation why.

"I think Blank spotted them first." Kuja stated.

"So why didn't he come tell us?" Dagger asked.

"Maybe they grabbed him…" Ruby trailed off.

"Let's go find him, he can't be far." said Kuja.

***

Beatrix placed the empty coffee cup back on the table and pulled her armored gloves back on. "You're very kind." she said.

"Not at all, it's my pleasure." said the observatory-keeper, Morrid. "I can see you were in need of help."

"Yes, and once again, I'd like to thank you for telling me about the airships–"

"I didn't mean about your need to find an airship." Morrid cut her off. "But I could tell you needed that too."

Beatrix was ready to stand up, indignant and give Morrid the usual "How dare you!?!?" speech, but instead sighed and settled for "How did you know?"

"I know lot's of things." Morrid replied, picking up the coffee cups and putting them in the sink. "I watch the world go by from this post, but I watch lives pass by, too. I'm very interested in people's lives. You see a lot of it when you've been involved with airships as long as I have. I helped design them with Regent Cid, you know? And for a long time, I was the captain of an airship. That's where I became interested in people's lives. I saw them all, coming and going, and I studied them."

"And me?" Beatrix asked softly.

Morrid turned and faced her. "You're wondering if you're going to be useful in this world for much longer."

Beatrix nodded slowly.

"A general without an army. It's like a brain without a body." Morrid explained. 

"I've done some …bad things, in my time." said Beatrix, wondering why she was telling him this. She had only come to ask about airships, then had politely accepted Morrid's offer of a cup of coffee, and now here she was in therapy.

"And you're wondering if, now, without the comfort that you were following orders, severed from the chain of command, if you're a bad person?" said Morrid.

"I'm slowly becoming less of my Queen's General and more of her friend." Beatrix felt comfortable telling Morrid this. He had been sworn to secrecy, and she knew he was trustworthy. "And when it happens, I don't know if I'm the kind of person who should have friends. I have nothing but my life as a soldier. I don't know how to be anything else. I don't even think I want to. I have no parents, no family, and before the royal couple passed away, no friends."

Morrid nodded slowly as she went on. "I feel like the world is slowly changing, and who I'm comfortable with being in it isn't going to be needed anymore."

"I hope you don't mind me asking." said Morrid. "But your eye… a war wound?"

Beatrix laughed. "I lost my eye long before my first battle. It's a sign of an over-ambitious child. I challenged my teacher before I was ready, and the fight accidentally cost me an eye."

"This teacher of yours, do you resent him for what he done?" asked Morrid.

"No, he proved to me what I had to be, instead of what I was. My eye is a mark of my past, what I no longer am; a reckless student with little respect for what she had to learn the hard way."

"Then that is the way your life must be, if you find you can no longer be a soldier." explained Morrid. "Let your life as a soldier be as what your life as a student was, if the world forces you to change; a reminder of you were, compared to who you are now."

Beatrix nodded, standing up and making for the door, all the while taking his words to heart. "Thank you." she said. "I must go now, the airship is arriving."

"Good journey." Morrid replied.

***

"There's certainly more to this village than meets the eye, by mah reckoning." stated Ruby as they stood by the windmill. "And Ah know Ah've said this before in mah life, but Ah never really meant it da literal way 'til now; where are all da men?"

It was true. It was mostly women and children in this village. All eight of them, really. Kuja cocked his ear to one side. "Can you hear that?" he asked.

The ladies shook their heads, and Kuja stepped over to what looked like a small tube, poking out of the ground next to the windmill. Cool air wafted out of it, accompanied by the occasional cry of a Chocobo. "It's some sort of air vent." he said, inspecting it. "There's some sort of facility underneath this village!"

"Maybe Blank found it?" suggested Dagger.

"Let's have a look, then." Kuja replied, opening the windmill's doors and finding what he was looking for; a sealed hatch in the floor. Kuja prized it open, and once again felt the cool breeze, stronger than before. "Me first, Ah guess." Ruby announced, and began to climb down, followed by Kuja and finally Dagger.

When they got to the bottom, they looked around. They were in a natural cavern that had been fitted with lighting and air conditioning. Boxes and crates were strewn about the room. Throughout the entire cave, in fact.  "Just when Ah thought Ah'd seen enough of caves to last a lifetime." Ruby muttered.

"Let's head that way." said Kuja, pointing down the tunnels. They made their way through the rooms briskly but quietly. Along the way, they passed by a Chocobo stable, and yet more crates, boxes and containers. Suddenly, they head talking and footsteps, and dived for cover behind a pile of ill-stacked barrels. Peeking through a gap in them, Kuja could see two men of the village talking to each other. They were unarmed.

"Are those soldiers gone yet?" one of them asked.

"Yeah, they said they were going to the observatory to wait for the airship. I guess they're handling the cargo to the castle, this time." the other replied.

"Cigarette?"

"Thanks."

"Anyway, why are they taking care of the shipment? We always deliver properly, right?"

"Things are different. Haven't you heard? The Queen's been kidnapped! They still don't know who did it yet, but I wouldn't want to be them when Alexandria finds out who. I mean, imagining having to go up against _this_ kinda firepower!"

As Kuja listened intently, Dagger could see something familiar on the barrel she was hiding behind. It was the symbol for Alexandria Castle! What was it doing on this barrel? Looking around, she could see it on other barrels too, but not most. All the others had the symbol for Treno marked on them. The ones for Treno looked older.

"Wanna go get something in the pub?" 

"You're buying."

"Fine."

The two workers walked off, and Kuja, Ruby and Dagger emerged again. "What's in these crates?" Dagger wondered aloud. Kuja drew a knife and started to try to jam the top of one crate open. "Ah dunno." said Ruby. "Wine?"

Satisfied, Kuja pulled the lid of the barrel clean off and peered inside. "Not even close." he said, reaching in and pulling out a crossbow. "Weapons."

Ruby and Dagger gasped and looked inside. Sure enough, the box was loaded to the brims with weapons of all description. Ruby didn't hesitate, reaching inside and pulling out a decent-sized crossbow and a much smaller one-hand model, and finally a generous supply of crossbow bolts in a holster, which she strapped to her belt.

"What are you doing?" Dagger asked.

"Might as well put it to some good use." Ruby replied with a shrug. Kuja nodded. "We're intruders here." he reminded them. "We shouldn't get caught with zero defenses. You know how to use one of these?"

Dagger stared at the broadsword Kuja had handed her. "N-no." she stuttered, and placed it back inside the box, pulling out a sceptre-like rod instead. 

"I know a few spells." she explained. "Mostly curative magic I learned in books. I know things like these are good for focusing them."

"Looks like Kuja's not the only one with surprises." Ruby snickered.

"Alright." said Kuja. "Let's see where the rest of this tunnel leads."

***

"Why does this kinda thing always have to happen to me?" Blank moaned under his breath. He was hiding behind a strange machine, staring at another strange machine. It seemed to be sucking in Mist from outside, converting it into eggs and loading the eggs onto a conveyor belt.

After spotting the Alexandrian soldiers, he had stayed hidden, and when they were gone he had made a run for it and gone through the trapdoor to investigate this place. He had almost been spotted several times, and had narrowly avoided stepping out in front of two workers, and now he was…

…feeling the point of a crossbow prodding him in the back of the neck. "Don't move!" a voice ordered. Blank sighed, stood up and raised his hands. Then the crossbow was removed. "Put yer hands down, y'all look like a moron, Blank." Ruby said, her voice returning to normal.

"So what else is new?" he replied, turning around and seeing her standing there, with Dagger and Kuja. "Boy, am I glad to see you guys! This place is completely nuts!" He told them all about the strange machines he had seen, and all the workers, and they in turn told him about the weapons cache.

"Bet you didn't find boxes like these, though?" he said, pointing towards an elongated one. Kuja stood in front of it. "…It looks like a coffin."

"They're all over the place back down that way." Blank said, pointing towards where the conveyer belt led. They all looked at the machine in front of it, which appeared to be powered by Mist, and was pumping out what look like large pinkish-white rocks at 3 second intervals.

"Are these eggs?" Dagger wondered.

"Eggs and coffins?" blurted Ruby. "Ain't this place just more than a little weird?"

Blank joined Kuja in peering into the machine. Metal cogwheels, crankshafts, gears and switches constantly turned and spun inside it. "Can we stop it?" Ruby asked. "I dunno." Blank replied. "Some of those metal gears look pretty solid."

"We can't do anything right now." Kuja announced. "I don't even know if we should. Let's keep looking."

They all agreed, and headed down the tunnels, passing a violation of the Chocobo labor laws that was running the conveyor belt. Gyshal greens were suspended in front of it as it ran on a treadmill.

"Here." said Blank, cutting the greens free with his sword and tossing them to the Chocobo. "Take a break."

The Chocobo chirped it's thanks as they continued walking down the increasingly narrow tunnel. The conveyor belt soon vanished from sight. "Did you hear that noise?" Dagger asked any who would answer.

"It wasn't me." said Blank. "I didn't get to eat before we set out."

"No, I heard it too." said Ruby, stopping. Kuja pressed his ear to the stone wall. He could hear the conveyor belt starting up again, (the Chocobo had obviously finished its break) and the sound of…eggs hatching?

"Oh my gods!" they all heard Dagger gasp, then ran up the tunnel and emerged in a large room. Dagger was standing there, staring at the scene before her. "Whoa." Blank gasped.

As if on a giant tie rack, strangely humanoid figures were being moved in an endless stream along an upper conveyor belt. Only Kuja and Dagger seemed to vaguely familiar with them. To Blank and Ruby, it was all new. Dagger couldn't believe it. They looked like Zidane's little companion Vivi, only much bigger. To Kuja, they resembled the Black Waltz that had tried to kill him.

"Ah've never seen anything like it…" Ruby gasped.

Kuja grimaced. "I have." He turned to them and explained. "You remember I told you about that Black Waltz thing that tried to kill me? It looked sort of like them, only bigger."

"So, getting the hell out of here before any of them wake up and decide to find out what 'Squished Blank' tastes like would fall under the category of '_Good_ Idea'?" Blank joked nervously.

"Let's get out of here." Kuja put simply. They made for the exit, the way Blank had come in, running as fast as they could. There were no workers around, no guards either. They found the trapdoor that led outside was wide open. They didn't stop until they reached the outside. Blank breathed the fresh air deeply. "Safe!" he muttered.

"Hands up! Don't move!"

"Knock it off, Ruby."

"Uhhh, Blank?" said Ruby. Blank looked over at her, distinctly _not_ behind him. Also, she had her hands up. So did Kuja and Dagger, in fact. "Ah crap." he moaned and put his hands up as the two workers who had been waiting for them outside pointed crossbows at them and began to take their weapons.

Kuja looked around. He could have killed the two guards easily with a pair of throwing knives, but there was a strong risk of hitting Dagger or Ruby. He noticed a large shadow off to his left, and noticed the cargo airship for the first time.

"Please." said Dagger to the guards. "I am Queen Garnet Til Alexandros the 17th. I am on a diplomatic mission, I must be allowed to go free."

"Sure you are." said the guard with a laugh as he snatched her sceptre. "And I'm the Bishop of Treno."

"You won't believe some of the jokes I've heard about you, your holiness." said Blank sarcastically. The other guard responded by punching him in the chest and knocking him to the ground. "Smartass."

"You don't even look like the Queen." said the first guard to Dagger. "I should know, I've met her."

Dagger sighed in frustration. "Please…"

Faster than a blink, the guard was gone. Dagger waved her hand in the spot where he had been a fraction of an instant ago. "H-hello?" She looked over at Kuja, who shrugged.

"What was that?" asked the second guard, taking time out from beating on Blank. Before he could say anything else, there was what felt like a rush of wind, and he vanished. Ruby ran over and began to help Blank up. He thanked her through his gasps for air.

A dark figure began to zip around them, faster than they could register. They saw it in the front of them when it was already behind them, then a field away, then beside them, then finally behind them again. It cast a powerful spell and blasted them with it, knocking them all down to the ground. Finally, it hung there in the air, laughing at them.

"It's another Black Waltz!" Kuja growled, looking at the monster. It was taller than the first one, like it was the same one stretched out. In it's hand it held a staff, and a pair of prominent black wings jutted out from it's back, but it looked more like it was able to float of it's own accord.

"Queen Garnet," it said, it's voice more human than the other Black Waltz. "Your castle awaits."

"No!" Dagger yelled back, defiant. "I have important things to do first!"

"I have my programming; Rescue Garnet, Terminate Kuja. I will _never_ stop!"

Kuja and Dagger exchanged glances. Ruby held onto Blank. Kuja had told them how powerful the first one had been, and they were helpless without their weapons. "Heads up!" Blank yelled as the Black Waltz unleashed yet another massive spell upon them, hurting all of them but Dagger.

"No!" she screamed. "Stop this!"

"Only if you will come with me!" the Black Waltz cackled.

"No!" she replied. "You said you would never stop in your mission, and that you were going to kill Kuja! I can't trust you, so just… so just…" She could feel her anger boiling up inside her. A lifetime of royalty told her that anger was not permitted among ladies of decency. But that had been for Garnet. She was Dagger now. Not a Queen, a simple country girl. She drew on some of the things Ruby had told her, and Dagger just let her anger rip. "…So you can just leave my friends alone, you evil _bastard_!!!" she screamed.

At this, the Black Waltz gave another laugh, then fell silent in surprise, wondering what the glow was emanating from it's chest. It was a pale white light, and it was being directed at the Black Waltz from somewhere behind it.

"What is this…?"

Beatriz came running, her Seiken power fully charged and locked on to the Black Waltz. She ran with her sword trailed behind her. She screamed a battle cry, twice as loud as Dagger's and leaped high over the Black Waltz's head, spinning around as she went. She brought the glowing blade of her sword down in flash, cleaving a trail, an arc of light that bisected the Black Waltz. When she hit the ground, she rolled to a stop and stood up, pointing her sword at the Waltz.

It floated there in mid-air, in considerable pain from the look of it. "W-…why-y?" it gasped, and fell to the ground dead. Slowly, it began to decompose before their eyes.

"Very un-royal language, your majesty." Beatrix said, helping her Queen up.

"Haven't you heard?" Dagger sighed with joy and relief. "It's 'Dagger' now."

"Let me guess…" said Beatrix, sheathing her sword and looking over at Kuja. "That…thing was your Black Waltz, correct? I thought it was destroyed."

"No, this was another. Somebody's sending them after us." Kuja replied, getting up.

"He said he wanted Dagger to return to the castle." Ruby pointed out, helping Blank up and handing him his sword, then picking up her crossbows. "Ya think da castle could have sent him?"

"Hey, a whole stack of the crates in there were marked for the castle." Blank pointed out.

"This airship is headed for the castle." said Beatrix. "I was going to requisition it to take us to Lindblum."

"Well, _you_ wouldn't have had any trouble." Blank chuckled. "Most men can't say a thing against a good-looking woman, especially when they carry a sword like that."

Beatrix glared at him with her one eye. Ruby pulled Blank over and whispered in his ear. "Do yerself a favor." she warned. "Next time you speak to Beatrix, shut up."

"Right."

"I don't understand." murmured Dagger. "Who in the castle could be behind those things? And those strange dolls being made in the factory, why were they being sent to the castle? And all those weapons? It's like somebody is building an army."

"Or preparing for war." Kuja muttered.

"Steiner wouldn't do that." Beatrix defended.

"Who's Steiner?" asked Blank.

"Captain of the Knights of Pluto." Beatrix explained. "And my former teacher. With the Queen and I gone, he's in charge of Al.exandria until we return, but he's a peaceful and honorable man! There's no way he'd be behind this!"

"I agree with Beatrix." said Dagger. "It must be somebody behind him."

"Somebody could be planning a _coup d'etat_." suggested Blank.

"With the Queen and the head of the Alexandrian army out of the country, this is probably the best time to strike." said Kuja.

"Yeah, but that factory had to have been running for months." stated Blank. "Whoever is behind this, they're trusted in Alexandria Castle, and they've obviously been planning this for a long time."

"I don't want to think there's a turncoat…" Dagger sighed. "…I'll return to Alexandria Castle at the first opportunity. But I have an urgent mission in Lindblum that cannot be ignored."

Beatrix nodded. It was not the course she would have chosen, but orders were orders, and she could be comfortable with that. At least, until they stopped becoming orders and they became the requests of a friend…

"I'll go tell the captain we require his airship." Beatrix said, once again fought the urge to salute, and headed towards the airship.

"We're not staying?" Ruby asked. Kuja shook his head. "I thought the Inn-keeper looked suspicious. He'd been told to look out for us. That's why I didn't like the idea of him seeing Dagger. And now that we know this town's secret, it's probably for the best that don't outwear our welcome."

"Well, it was nice ta get ta change clothes anyway." sighed Ruby. "Alrighty, it ain't no Prima Vista, but last one on the airship buys the drinks in Lindblum."

She went and Dagger followed. Blank kicked a stone and shrugged. "She paid last time, so it's my round anyway. Let's go. Oh wait, isn't that your line?"

Kuja frowned. "Let's– just get on the airship."

Blank chuckled and followed Ruby and Dagger to the rear of the ship. The ship itself was a radically different design to the Prima Vista. The main body of the ship was a pod compared to the Mist-filled balloon it used for levitation, about three times as big as the main part of the ship. Two powerful propellers were on either side of the balloon. Along the side of the hull were sturdy-looking barrels, probably used for ballast. Finally, it rested on the ground on a pair of outriggers that resembled overly large skis. Blank remembered having to cling to just a mooring line when the Prima Vista made it's escape from Alexandria, and shuddered.

The only way to board the ship was via a ladder at the back of the ship, which led to a door. As she climbed up, Ruby felt a hand gently touch her rear end. She instantly turned scarlet. "Blank…" she growled.

"What?" asked Blank. He was on the ground looking up at her.

"My apologies." said Dagger. "I wasn't looking, I'm sorry."

"Q-quite alright." said Ruby, and scurried up the ladder as fast as she could. As he climbed onto the ladder, Blank was biting his tongue and one could almost see tears in his eyes as he fought a losing battle to contain himself.

***

"Well, this is certainly surprising." Blank muttered. There was no crew on board the ship. At least, no _human_ crew anyway. The strange mage "dolls" they had all seen being produced in the factory were alive, walking around and running the ship, albeit in total silence. Ruby couldn't help but notice hoe eerie it looked.

"These can't be da same ones we saw in da factory, can they?" she asked.

"No." Kuja replied. "They were just freshly hatched, and they didn't look alive. This cargo ship has been running for months."

"But only recently has it been making trips to Alexandria." Beatrix announced, stepping into the cabin. She held a scroll in her hand. "What?" Dagger asked. Beatrix handed her the scroll.

"This is the ship's destination manifest." Beatrix explained. "Every time it unloads cargo in a city, it has to be stamped by officials. See, look, almost all of them are from Treno, but only recently it's been shipping to Alexandria."

"Holy crap!" Blank exclaimed, finally putting two and two together. "I got it! That factory place has been producing weapons and those doll things for months, and shipping them to Treno via this ship, and recently Alexandria. But who's behind it all?"

"You better hang on to that scroll." Kuja suggested to Dagger. "We don't know who's behind this, and until we can find out more, you should keep that as a clue."

Dagger nodded, rolled the scroll up and placed it in one of her pockets.

"Um, guys?" Ruby said from the back of the cabin.

"What is it?" Dagger asked.

"This ship ain't going ta Treno." Ruby said grimly, looking out a window at the landscape below. "Ah think it's headed for Alexandria."

A hush fell upon the group. An unforeseen choice had presented itself. Either stay on course and head back to Alexandria, where all the answers to the growing puzzle were, or take the airship from the black mages and head for Lindblum. Kuja and Beatrix exchanged looks. Kuja's mission was to take Dagger to Lindblum, but Beatrix was dedicated to returning her to the protection of Alexandria. Of course, Dagger's orders were crucial to them both. In the end, it all came down to her.

Everyone looked at her. She shuffled her feet nervously, mulling the decision over in her head. _If all were so easy,_ she thought. _I could return to Alexandria right now, be in Zidane's arms again, and this little adventure will all be over._

That's just it. Her adventure would be _over_. Her life outside would be over. It would mean the end of Dagger and she would have to go back to being Garnet again. She really didn't want her desire to remain free to influence her decision, but the fact was, she _did_ want to be free. Thank gods she had her mission in Lindblum to make the decision for her.

"We must continue to Lindblum." she announced, royal tones momentarily returned to her voice. "I still have much to do there. I cannot go running back to Alexandria at the first opportunity. I am only a young Queen, but I _am_ a Queen. I must be strong."

Beatrix nodded and saluted. "I will head up to the bridge and take command of this airship."

"I'll go with you." said Kuja.

As they left, Blank grinned. "I gotta admit, I really love it when you go all formal, your majesty." he said, making Dagger smile.

"And when Ah ask him nicely ta do anything, he doesn't do anything." Ruby pointed out.

"You've never said anything nicely all the time we've known each other." replied Blank, following Dagger towards the ladder to the upper decks.

"Not true, soon after Ah met ya Ah asked ya how soon until ya'd be leaving."

***

 The black mages that ran the ship put up no resistance. They were like Zombies, or more succinctly, Golems. They just stood aside as Beatrix took hold of the steering wheel and began to turn the ship 180° and headed in the opposite direction, in other words, towards Lindblum. 

Kuja stood in the cabin, leaning against a wooden beam and looking at the soulless mages staring at him and Beatrix with alien yellow eyes. There was something disturbingly familiar about them. He had never seen them before in his life, but he could feel it, somewhere in his absent past, that he knew beings that were somehow familiar.

How do I know this?

"They really are strange." Beatrix muttered. Their constant stare was beginning to unsettle her. Kuja nodded. "I'm sure they won't try anything." he assured. "If they were going to, they would have done it when we took control of the ship."

Beatrix mulled it over, deciding that Kuja was right. Looking out the cabin window, she could see Dagger, Blank and Ruby climbing out onto the deck. Everyone was blissfully unaware that at that moment, they were being watched by hideously evil eyes.

The third and final Black Waltz stood on the bow of it's small airship, the Fenreal, spread it's massive wings, and began to fly after the airship, hunting it's occupants down without mercy.

***

"Hey, what's with them?" Blank asked, looking at the Black Mages. Suddenly, they were moving around, as if anticipating something. 

"That's certainly odd." said Beatrix. "They didn't respond to anything until now..."

Dagger suddenly felt a shadow fly past her. The Black Mages really seemed restless now. "What are they doing?"

They felt the air grow warm, despite the chill of the wind on the upper decks. Beatrix took one hand off the steering wheel and slowly reached for her Save The Queen. She saw Ruby loading the larger of her two crossbows.

"Ah don't like it." she murmured. "Somethin ain't right."

As if on cue, the third Black Waltz swooped down and hovered at the front of the ship. It's glowing yellow eyes were a warped nightmarish version of the ones on the Black Mages. It was twice as tall as them, with massive black wings on it's back. It looked more powerful than the last two Waltzes combined. In it's sinister hand, it clutched a staff used for channeling magic, similar to Dagger's.

"So, number two was defeated by none other than Beatrix herself?" it mused. It's voice was dark and evil, but altogether more human than it's predecessors. The group watched it from the cabin, unsure whether to make the first move. By now they all had weapons drawn.

"You dare to draw your weapons in front of me?" the Black Waltz snarled. "Do you dare to fight a Black Waltz?"

"All that and more!" growled Kuja, drawing a large throwing knife. "Huh?" 

Suddenly, the Black Mages began moving, walking in front of him and towards the Black Waltz.

"What are they doing?" Dagger asked, but nobody replied. They all just watched transfixed as the Mages began to march on the Black Waltz. Others came up from the lower deck to join them.

"Mindless dolls." the Black Waltz spat. "Their inferiority sickens me." With that, it held it's staff up and channeled a bolt of energy into it, which it directed at one Black Mage, blowing it to pieces. Everyone stared in horror as the demon began to fire lightning all over the front of the ship, killing the Black Mages instantly as they struck. The wooden planks and beams at the bow began to splinter and explode. Along the side, barrels containing Mages were split open and rained their cargo down, hundreds of feet to the ground below. 

Dagger couldn't bear to look at it, and turned away, holding onto Kuja, who glared at the Black Waltz, furious. It hung there in mid-air, eyes now glowing red and it's arms crossed across it's chest, smugly satisfied that the murder was complete. All that was left on the deck was a single mournful-looking Mage's hat.

There was a snapping sound, and the Black Waltz paused. Something was sticking out if it's shoulder. With painful gasps, it pulled the arrow out and stared at it quizzically. "Pain?" it wondered aloud. "I wasn't programmed for pain…" It looked towards the smashed window of the bridge. Ruby was already reloading her crossbow.

Blank mimicked Beatrix's stance, pointing his sword at the Waltz's heart, if indeed it even had one. "Dagger, take over here." Kuja said. Dagger looked at him, then at the ship's controls.

"I don't know how to…"

Kuja simply placed her hands on the wheel. "Hold this and keep it steady." he explained. "You don't need to touch anything else."

"O-okay. Please be careful, everyone." Dagger took control as the rest of the group dashed out to the front of the ship to confront the demon. It regarded them smugly. 

"Who sent you?" Kuja demanded.

"Ah, the princess's bodyguards have gathered! How very convenient!"

"Answer the question!" Beatrix snapped. 

"You dare to challenge me?!" the Black Waltz roared, holding up it's hand and preparing a spell.

Kuja held up a throwing knife. "I was thinking about it." he said coldly and flung the blade. It buried itself firmly in the Black Waltz's palm, buried up to the hilt. It seemed to short out the spell the Waltz had been generating.

"You will die!" it screamed, attacking them with a Thunder spell. As Blank flipped out of harm's way, Ruby ducked behind a miraculously intact barrel and fired several arrows into the Black Waltz's chest. Kuja managed to throw three blades at it before the Thunder spell blasted him back across the desk.

"Blank!" Beatrix yelled. Blank looked at her, somewhat surprised. They hadn't exactly talked much and suddenly they were on a first-name basis? "I'm charging up a Seiken spell!" she explained. "When I move at it, you move behind me and get the second blow in, you got that?!?"

Blank nodded. She was a General, for crying out loud. She did this kind of thing for a living. Suddenly, Beatrix yelled out and held her sword high above her head. Light traveled from her hands to the hilt, then finally down along and hung at bursting point on the tip of the blade. She lunged towards the Black Waltz with Blank right behind her. She plunged her sword into the Black Waltz and unleashed the Stock Break attack on it, draining it's life force to the point of death. Blank was unable to get the second blow in, however. As he went to strike, the Black Waltz snarled and used the last of it's strength to fly away from the ship.

"You fools!" it bellowed. "You scum! _I exist only to kill_!"

Ruby helped Kuja up. Blank and Beatrix rushed over. "We can't let it get away!" Beatrix stated.

"Hey, Ah'm all for that." Ruby replied. "But hands up how many of us can fly?"

"There's the South Gate!" Kuja pointed ahead of them. "If we can make it through, I don't think it'll be able to follow us." Kuja looked at it, off in the distance, remembering how he had jumped off it to land on the Prima Vista in that storm. It felt like years ago. He walked back to the cabin and found Dagger. She seemed to actually be enjoying piloting the airship.

"Do you see South Gate?" he asked, pointing to the mountains ahead of them.

"Yes." Dagger replied. He was right, she was enjoying this.

Beatrix stood in the cabin doorway. "South Gate is a huge gate built exclusively for airships." she explained. "But maneuvering through it could be tricky. Would you like me to do it, Dagger?" Anyone could tell from the way she said it that Beatrix wasn't used to the name.

"No, it's fine." Dagger replied. "I want to do it myself."

Blank leaned in the smashed bridge window. Ruby was next to him. "Hey, we don't have clearance to go through. They could close the gate on us." he warned. 

"Security was very relaxed when I came through." stated Kuja simply. Blank stared at him. "Uh…..huh."

"Why, how did he get through?" Ruby asked. Blank looked at her. "I'll tell you some other time."

***

"I exist only to kill." it muttered, starting up the Mist engine. "I exist only to kill. I exist only to kill. I exist only to kill." The Black Waltz repeated over and over, meaning every word. It had found it's airship again. It's wings were damaged, but it could still pursue and eliminate it's targets, and return the Queen to Alexandria. At least, that's what it originally meant to do. General Beatrix's attack had damaged it, it knew. Now killing the Queen was acceptable. Killing Beatrix was acceptable. Killing anyone was acceptable. It existed only to kill. Without the suffering of others, it was nothing.

The airship was small but fast, and would easily catch up with the clumsy cargo ship. It was time to kill.

***

Beatrix heard a noise above the wind, turned and looked past the rear of the ship. "All ahead full!" she gasped. "The Black Waltz is coming after us on an airship!" Kuja followed her gaze. "She's right! It's headed straight for us!"

"What do I do?" Dagger asked urgently.

"We'll never outrun it in this skip with propellers!" Ruby moaned.

"Then crank this tub up to full power!" Blank yelled. Everyone looked at him. "I'm serious! We can't outmaneuver him in this cargo ship, so let's jam it through South Gate before the gates close and shut him out!"

Kuja and Beatrix looked at each other. "What do you think?" Kuja asked.

"Risky."

"Hey, do we have a choice alluva sudden and nobody bothered to tell me?!?" Ruby yelled. "Let's go with Blank's plan already!" Beatrix nodded and reached for a leaver, pulled it back and felt the engine begin to power up. Already they could feel the ships speed begin to increase.

"It's up to you, Dagger." Kuja assured, placing a hand on her should. She nodded and gripped the wheel harder, a determined look on her face.

"Here it comes!" Ruby yelled.

The two ships zigzagged through the mountains over the Mist. South Gate was rushing towards them at an unbelievable rate. But there was no denying that the Black Waltz would reach them long before they made it to South Gate. Indeed, it flew by them seconds later, a lightning attack already prepared. Ruby cocked her crossbow and fired, aiming not at the Black Waltz but at the Fenreal's Mist engine. Kuja quickly grabbed a small barrel and charged a quick fire spell into it, then flung it at the Black Waltz. It hit the Fenreal and exploded, but the move only succeeded in causing the small ship to spin out of control and fall behind.

Dagger tried her best to ignore the fight, focusing instead on aiming the ship right between the massive doors of the South Gate. She could see the doors were beginning to close, and prayed they would close before the Black Waltz would catch up. 

No such luck. It caught up with them a second time and rocketed into the South Gate. Instead of firing magic at them, however, it rammed them several times. Blank staggered about on the deck before finally toppling over the edge. He grabbed onto the side and Ruby caught him as he fell, screaming his name. He looked up at her, holding on for dear life. She was holding on with all her strength, not going to let him go.

The two ships raced through the inner darkness of South Gate. The Black Waltz stopped ramming them and pulled away to a distance, where it could see Kuja, General Beatrix and Queen Garnet in the bridge. She was looking ahead, piloting the ship. In it's hand, the Black Waltz began to generate a powerful fire spell. She wouldn't even see it coming…

Then it was distracted by the unknown man dangling from the side of the ship. Someone was holding him from falling. The redheaded stranger was looking right at the Black Waltz, grinning and pointing ahead. What was he pointing–?

It never had time to scream as it followed Blank's point right towards the massive closing doors of the Gate, directly in front of it. The cargo ship shot out of South Gate, missing the doors by inches as the Black Waltz and it's ship slammed into one of the doors and exploded instantly, engulfed in an immense fireball.

With Kuja's help, Ruby hauled Blank back inside and the looked back where they had come. The South Gate was now closed. Fires burned on it, and a massive black scar of an explosion was painted on one of the enormous doors.

***

"We made it." Beatrix sighed, placing a hand on Dagger's shoulder. Dagger finally let go of the wheel and sighed with relief, but looked mournful at the same time. "What's wrong?" Beatrix asked.

"South Gate was badly damaged. People may have been hurt." Dagger explained regretfully. "It was my fault…"

"Don't worry about it." Beatrix reassured her. "You did what you had to do. You had to, or we would have all perished. Besides, they'll repair it, won't they?"

"You're right." said Dagger, already beginning to feel better. Beatrix was a great friend, she always knew just what to say. She let Beatrix take over piloting the ship and stepped out onto the deck. Kuja was at the very front of the ship. Ruby and Blank were closer to her, looking out over the side of the ship.

"You know, when you saved me." Blank began. "You had a strange look on your face. I think you were concerned for my life."

"If anyone asks, Ah'll deny it." Ruby replied with a grin. Blank smiled back.

Kuja turned and looked back at everyone. Dagger smiled at him, glad they had all managed to make it this far. There wasn't far to go now, she was already on the final run of her mission. She looked over the side of the ship and down into the majestic regency of Lindblum. There wasn't far to go now.

Slowly, the airship began to bank right and head over the Mist, heading in the direction of Lindblum Castle.

*~*~*~*~*~*


	5. Speed Of Life

Chapter V; "Speed Of Life"

**Lindblum Grand Castle**

The city of Lindblum was simply massive, which is far too small a word to describe the bustling metropolis, overflowing with a populace of millions, thousands of buildings, some of which were so big they defied belief, as well as the uncountable number of airships crossing the city and regency in any given moment.

The massive main doors of the city opened and allowed the cargo ship to pass through. Everyone was astounded. Kuja, Ruby and Blank lived here, and Dagger and Beatrix had been here before, but they had never been blessed with this view of the city before.

"Astonishing." Dagger gasped.

"It's certainly much bigger than Alexandria Castle." Beatrix admitted.

"The city of Lindlbum is inside the castle." Ruby explained, sighing. "It's good to be home, _finally_."

_I guess this means we'll be going our separate ways after this_. Blank thought. _Well, except for me and Ruby. We'll probably go looking for Tantalus. A shame, though, I was really beginning to like Dagger and Kuja. Even Beatrix was pretty nice after a while._

The ship sailed slowly across the busy skies of Lindblum City, before Blank steered it into the indoor airship dock of the main Grand Castle. "Ah've never been in here before!" Ruby gasped at the sight of the massive airship harbor. "It's gigantic!"

"I have." said Dagger. "But it's been a while. I haven't been to Lindblum since my father died."

"Well, here comes the welcoming party." Kuja muttered as they stepped off the ship and faced the three elite Lindblum guards approaching them.

"Greetings." said Dagger, her royal tones returning. "I am Queen Garnet Til Alexandros the 17th. I humbly request an audience with Regent Cid."

As Dagger and the guards talked, Ruby felt Blank poke her and whisper in her ear. "Hey, I've been wondering, what kind of middle name is 'Til' anyway?"

"Ah dunno." Ruby hissed back. "Whaddya reckon happened to the other sixteen?"

"Probably under that circus tent Brahne wore." Blank chuckled back quietly. "She must have ate them all."

Ruby stifled a laugh and shrugged Blank off. Dagger and the guards were having a difference of opinion. She had the opinion that she really was Queen Garnet, and they didn't.

"I'm sorry, but unless you can show me some conclusive proof…" the head of the trio began.

"That won't be necessary." said someone emerging from the corridor at the end of the docks. He was tall and heavily bearded with dark hair. He was one of those people that while they were obviously upper-class and noble, they also looked as if the very concept of scissors and a razor were things that only existed on other planets. Just as easily as acts such as genocide, torture, cruelty and insanity could be excused on the grounds of nobility, so could the inability to remember to shave once a decade or so.

"Uncle Artania!" Dagger squealed. Artania smiled and dismissed the guards. "Garnet." he said. "It's good to see you again. I hope you're adapting to your duties as Queen amicably."

"Uuhhh…" Blank began.

"Shut it." Ruby ordered.

"Shutting it." Blank complied and went silent.

"If you don't mind me asking, who are these people?" asked Artania.

"Oh." said Dagger, turning around. "These are my friends. I'm sure you already know General Beatrix."

"Oh yes." said Artania, shaking her hand. "It's nice to see you."

"These are Ruby and Blank. They are, um…"

"Ahem!" coughed Blank.

"Ha-hem!" coughed Ruby.

"…Actors." Dagger said, choosing not to lie but not to tell the truth either. Which meant that revealing Kuja's profession was right out. "And this is Kuja." she said.

"Oh yes." said Artania. "You're the one who–"

"Yes." Kuja cut him off.

"Well, all of you please come this way." Artania went on. "The Regent is waiting."

***

They followed the Minister down a long corridor, lined with murals and paintings, the value of one would probably have paid for the Prima Vista ten times over, Blank reckoned. They passed a fountain and boarded a lift as Artania explained about the castle.

"Lindblum Castle has three levels, all connected by this lift." he explained as they traveled upwards past the numerous floors. "From the Base Level, which lies below the Mist, you can take a trolley to the harbor and the back gate. Ships hardly arrive at the harbor anymore since travel by air has become so popular. The Mist poses great danger, so we've sealed off everything. Just above the Base Level is the Mid Level. You can ride the air cab from the Mid Level to go to town. The Upper Level contains the royal chamber and conference room. Access to that level is restricted, because the Regent himself resides there."

It was at this point Blank was starting to wonder if there was café at the end of this visitor's tour. He was the only one who could hear his stomach rumbling over the noise of the lift.

"So hey, what's da Regent like?" Ruby asked. "Ah've lived here a while, but Ah've never seen him."

"He's very wise." Dagger replied. "He always thinks ahead. He may seem a bit odd at times, but he is very dependable. He and my father were best friends...I hope he will listen to what I have to say."

"Ah'm sure he will, sweetie."

"Knows everything then, does he?" Blank said from the back of the lift.

Dagger allowed herself a smile, not turning around. "He would say that he knows enough."

The lift finally came to a stop at the Upper level. The group disembarked and followed Artania to the throne room. "The Regent Cid Fabool the 9th, and her majesty, Lady Hilda!" he announced. "Queen Garnet Til Alexandros the 17th!"

"Ninth and seventeenth." Blank mused quietly. "Dagger's got him beat, ahead by eight."

Regent Cid was nearly as tall as Artania, and possibly the most distinguishing feature about him was the long thin white moustache on his upper lip. Beside him sat his wife Hilda, dressed extravagantly in yellow and orange. There were rumors abound that she was secretly a magician, but nothing had ever been proven.

"Garnet! Cid exclaimed, standing up. "I'm so glad you're safe! When we heard the ship you were on went down in Evil Forest, we feared the worst."

"Which seems to me that you had little to no faith in my abilities." Kuja said darkly as he strode into the room. "Well, there you go. One Queen, delivered intact."

"I didn't mean that, Kuja." said Cid, waving his hands apologetically.

"You were the one who hired Kuja to escort the Queen?" Beatrix asked suddenly.

"Of course." Cid replied, returning to his throne. "I would have sent some of my elite guard to do it, but it had to be done in secret. And if Lindblum soldiers were found taking the Queen, it could be viewed as an act of war."

"So I was hired." Kuja explained. "And I completed my mission."

"Of course, it had to be unofficial, off the records." Hilda explained, speaking for the first time. "If anyone found out my husband had dealings with a, and please don't offended by this, Mister Kuja, _criminal_, it would have been just as scandalous."

"Man, this cloak and dagger stuff is really screwy." Blank muttered. "Not you, sorry." he said as the Queen looked at him. 

"But why did you have to come here, Dagger?" Ruby asked.

Before Dagger could speak, Cid cut her off. "I'm afraid that is of a top-secret matter and cannot be discussed."

"Hey pops, we risked our butts to get her here safely!" Blank yelled. "We'd at least like to know why!"

"I'm glad you helped her," Cid replied, unfazed by Blank's sudden loss of diplomacy. "And for your efforts, you will receive remuneration consummate."

"Huh?" Blank asked.

"We'll get paid." Ruby translated.

"Oh, cool."

"But you have all had a long journey," Cid continued. "And what Garnet and I must discuss can wait. I'd like to treat you all to lunch, you must all be hungry."

"See, now that's more like it!" Blank yelled, rubbing his hands together.

As the others began to walk to the dining hall, Kuja pulled Cid aside for a moment. "If it's all the same to you, your highness." he said. "I'd rather take my payment and leave now."

The others stopped and turned. "I thought you might." Cid replied, and reached behind the throne and pulled out a small bag of money. "Five hundred gold sovereign Gil. As agreed."

Kuja gratefully took the bag and tucked it away in the folds of his armor. He looked at his little group one last time and strode for the exit.

"So you're going?" Blank asked. 

"That's right." Kuja replied.

"Take care, then." said Ruby.

Kuja nodded and went to leave. Dagger stopped him. "Kuja." she said. "I'd just like to thank you for what you done for me. All of it. I really mean it, thank you."

Kuja couldn't think of anything to say, and then just allowed himself a smile. "Good luck, Dagger. And you helped yourself get this far, don't forget that."

"Thank you. I won't."

As she watched him go, she felt something strange. Everyone had deliberately avoided saying "Goodbye", and there was something about the way Kuja had called her 'Dagger', like he'd always remember Dagger over Garnet. Well, maybe he liked Dagger better.

_Of course he liked Dagger better_. Dagger was a country girl who could take care of herself. Dagger was a survivor, independent and resourceful. Garnet, on the other hand, sat on her throne and stared out the castle windows, only _wishing_ for escape. Garnet was a prisoner, Dagger was free. It was as simple as that.

And with that, he was gone. Beatrix watched him go, certain for sure that was last she would ever see of him. Little did she know, however, that what she thought was the end was simply the beginning.

"Right." said Blank. "Now, let's eat!"

***

Kuja got off the air cab and stepped out into the Industrial district. Around him, people went to and fro about their business. He walked down the steps of the cab ranks and past a large statue of Regent Cid's father, the man who discovered how to harness the Mist for use in engines to power airships. Kuja ignored it and walked down a narrow street towards the bar he was looking for; "The Laughing Gnome."

Despite the rough look of the place from the various customers, practically all of which were armed, it was a busy and bustling place. Kuja stepped in the main door and looked around. Warriors from all races were abundant. Most of them were human, but Kuja could see a Burmecian standing at the bar, a lizard-like creature at a table in the very back of the tavern, and assorted other specimens of creatures from across the continent. He also spotted someone familiar in particular but decided not to let on. He left the doorway and walked over to the bar, standing next to the tall Burmecian.

"Hey, Bobo." said Kuja.

"Hey Kuja." the old bartender replied.

"How's business?"

"Picking up. Every time the Festival of the Hunt rolls around, my business goes through the roof. This year, I'm bringing in live entertainment and everything." Realizing Kuja obviously didn't care, Bobo just sighed. "What'll ya have?"

Kuja looked at the rare selection of drinks on the shelf the other side of the bar. "Bearhuggers Best?" he mused aloud. "No, I don't think so. Watney's Red Barrel? Lord Melchett's Tonsil Dissolver?"

"Try the Burmecian Ale." said the Burmecian next to Kuja out of nowhere. "It's pretty good here."

Kuja looked at him, then at Bobo. "Thanks. I'll have that."

Bobo poured the drink and handed it to Kuja. "Buy a drink for the lady?"

"What lady?" Kuja asked, taking a drink.

"The one standing behind you with the big axe."

Kuja didn't even blink or turn around. "Hello, Lani." he sighed. 

Lani chuckled. "How often have we done this dance, Kuja?" she asked sarcastically. "And you _still_ don't know the steps." Kuja calmly took another drink, even though he could feel the razor-sharp prod of her axe poking into his back.

"In the time it'll take for you to draw even _one_ of those cleverly concealed blades of yours, I can have your head off and both your arms with it." Lani assured, unrelenting.

"Not in my bar!" Bobo cried.

"Shut it, old man!" ordered Lani.

"It's just that blood's hell to shift…"

"Who's paying you this time, Lani?" Kuja butted in. 

"Why? You gonna double what they're paying, like the Bishop of Treno, or kill my employer like with that whole business with the Izzarrd syndicate?"

"Just curious." Kuja replied.

"Well, tough!" Lani snapped. "You should know that in _our_ profession, buddy, there's no real loyalty, just to the almighty Gil. Too bad, Kuja! I've been looking forward to this for–urk!"

The Burmecian who sat next to Kuja had only moved his arm. The rest of his body stayed perfectly still. He didn't even turn his head. He had, however, grabbed the long pike with a curved blade at the top he was now holding at Lani's throat.

"You're disturbing the other customers." he said, his face hidden under a wide-brimmed hat, and long muddy-blonde hair trailed out from under it down to his furry collar. Only two long gray ears sticking out from the top of his hat were any indication of his features. One was pierced, and both showed signs of a well-experienced warrior; tears, scars and little pieces missing like you'd see on a rough alley cat. "People are trying to drink."

Lani glared at him, and reluctantly lowered her axe. "This isn't over!" she spat at Kuja and backed away. The unknown Burmecian lowered the pike and returned it to his side. "And you!" Lani yelled at him. "I'll remember _you_!"

With that, she left the bar, cursing and swearing a blue streak. Kuja finished his drink. "What's that now?" he asked.

"I'm ahead by three." stated the Burmecian, finishing his.

"Liar."

"Right, then you keep score."

Then they looked at each other. The Burmecian grinned. His eyes were kept permanently hidden under his hat, but his expression could easily be judged. "How are you, Fratley?" Kuja asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Fratley replied. "In town for the hunting festival. You?"

"Just got back in town from some business." Kuja replied. Fratley nodded. They were in similar trades. Kuja an assassin, Fratley a mercenary. Both of them knew what "business" meant. They had worked together on countless jobs and missions in the past. Kuja didn't have and friends and Fratley didn't have anyone _period,_ and it was likely that simply knowing each other was the closest either of them would ever get. The 'score' Fratley was always keeping was a track record of how many times one had helped the other out or saved each others necks. They weren't friends, just two people who knew each other.

"Freya?" Kuja asked out of the blue.

Fratley didn't reply, just nodded at Bobo to refill his glass. He drank the whole thing in one go. "Right." Kuja said, and didn't mention it any further. Some time before the two of them had met on a mission, Fratley had lost his memory from a trauma suffered in battle. He could only remember vague things, like being a revered Knight in the Burmecian army's special forces. He still knew all his skills, acrobatics and abilities with the pike, the weapon that had been in his hand when he had woken up on a bright summer's day in the middle of a battlefield, with literally hundreds of dead warriors scattered around him, barely even aware of his name. But most of all, he could remember the love of a woman. Freya. They had been engaged when Fratley had gone off into the world. Her love was the only thing he could remember with absolute clarity. It was what kept him going, kept him alive and kept him sane. When he had returned to Burmecia, it was only to find that she had gone out into the world looking for him, vowing never to return until she did. So, Fratley put Burmecia behind him forever and continued his search for her, supporting himself as a mercenary. He was still searching for her to this day.

"Good luck with the hunt, then." said Kuja, standing up.

"You're not entering, then?" Fratley asked.

"No, I'm going to head home. But I might be watching, I don't know."

"Seeya then."

Kuja nodded and walked out of the bar, hopped on an air cab bound for the theatre district and began to head home.

* * *

She looked out the window and sighed. So, here she was again. Garnet, once more, and Dagger put to rest. They had told her she couldn't leave the castle, for her own safety. Apparently. Beatrix sat on one of the beds in the opulent guest bedroom. "Your majesty…" she began suddenly. "Is your pendant really that important?"

Garnet smiled. She knew Beatrix wasn't the least bit interested in her pendant, but she knew Garnet wanted to talk. About _anything_, really. Good old Beatrix.

"Yes." she said. "I was indeed most surprised."

Garnet had talked with Cid about her pendant. They had examined and discussed it until Cid asked what had made her so curious. She explained that it had been a family heirloom for generations, and that she never took it off. She even slept with it. One day, not long after her mother had died, Zidane had paid her a visit. When she awoke the next morning, she felt that something was wrong with the pendant. It had been switched for a fake. She kept it a secret, silently wondering why her pendant had been replaced. When Zidane returned next week, she had awoken to find the real pendant had been returned. She wanted to find out why he had felt the need to take it without asking her. What was in it that made the man she loved use deception on her?

At that point, Cid removed a similar pendant hanging from his neck, only a different shape. "This belonged to my ancestor, who founded Lindblum." he explained, and showed her how the two pendants fitted together, but there was still a large piece of the whole missing. Nobody knew what the finished object was, and why it had been split over 500 years ago. But it was kept secret from all but blood-members of the royal families. Zidane shouldn't know about it.

Garnet was more than surprised, Beatrix could tell. The thought that Zidane was not all that he seemed would be most distressing for Garnet. She could see why she had decided to keep her mission secret from both her and Zidane. Thinking of Zidane reminded Beatrix of home, and hoping that whoever was in command, most likely Steiner, was doing a good job. That made her suddenly think of sending a message to Alexandria to tell Steiner everything was all right and that the Queen was safe and would be returning shortly.

"I can't stand being kept here like a prisoner, Beatrix." Garnet moaned. "If I can't leave the castle, can I at least go somewhere else? I need to be alone."

From the look Garnet gave her, Beatrix could tell she had somewhere already in mind.

* * *

Kuja never, absolutely _never_, as a rule, ever entered his home from the front door. It was basically against his principles as an assassin, making sure his movements were untraceable. As usual, he dropped in through the skylight and looked around. The place was untouched as he had left it, and always so. Nobody knew he lived here. To anyone, it was just an empty building the theatre district with a big clock. Kuja had found it abandoned and took it as his own.

He dusted off the table and pulled a hidden catch. The table flipped over and revealed a safe in the floor. Kuja opened the five combination locks and cast the bag of money inside with his other treasures, then firmly locked it again. Satisfied, he replaced the table and vaulted up onto a tier where his bed was. He dropped onto the sheets and relaxed. Finally, another job complete.

He stared up at the ceiling and ignored the large gears that made the wall on the other side of his home began to turn, and the clock began to strike. He casually picked up a book he had left there, and continued on where he left off. It was all about assassins, Lords and Ladies and the corruption that was rife in upper classes.

Only now Kuja couldn't keep his mind on it. After meeting Garnet, it was hard to imagine she was of the same kind of people in the book. Wide-eyed at the world, that's what she was. And then there was that Zidane guy.

Once again, Kuja shuddered. What was it about Zidane that made him feel so strange? Was it fear? No, he was pretty sure it wasn't. It was strange, but somehow, Zidane filled Kuja with anxiety. Zidane was a central piece of a puzzle that stemmed from the moment Kuja washed up on the shores of Lindblum harbor, Kuja was sure of it.

He closed his eyes, and tried to remember back as far as he could, past the blue light…

…But it was useless. He never could. All the answers were there; he could just never go past the blue light. It was like trying to remember your own birth. 

He opened his eyes again, finally in determination. He was going to go see Garnet again, and ask her about Zidane.

* * *

"So what now?" Blank asked dejectedly, sitting down on the pavement next to Ruby, who shrugged. They had checked all the Tantalus hideouts in Lindblum. Now they were sitting on the side of the road in the Industrial district, wondering what the next step was. In the city below, the Festival of the Hunt was in full swing.

"Ah dunno." said Ruby. Tantalus were nowhere to be found. That either meant that they weren't around yet, or worse… well, she didn't even want to think of the worst, remembering Evil Forest. No, Baku and the boys would never be put down that easily. They were probably just delayed, that was all.

"We could always head back to Alexandria." Blank suggested. "No trouble booking passage. Hell, with the money Cid gave us, we could buy our own airship."

"Ah like Alexandria." said Ruby. "Reckon Ah could open mah own theatre there someday."

Blank looked down to where the Hunt was on, at one contestant in particular. "Ouch, his walking days are over." Ruby looked too, and nodded. "Yeah. The Burmecian with the pike is doing pretty well. He's way out in front."

Blank could tell Ruby missed Dagger already. The two of them got along great. Ruby was practically her older sister, from the way they carried on. Considering Ruby spent most of her time among men, it was no wonder.

Of course, now it seemed unlikely that the two of them would ever get to hang out again. But if she went Alexandria, Ruby might be able to see Dagger a lot more.

"The hunt's nearly over." Blank said finally, making conversation. "Looks like Burmecian guy's gonna win."

"Uh-huh."

"It's getting late, and it'll be dark soon." Blank continued. "I know a neat hotel in the rich part of town. Never got to stay there before, but with this money, it shouldn't be a problem."

Ruby held out her hand, simply to say, "Lead on". Before going, however, they left a note at the hideout for Baku and the others, letting them know they were in town and where they were staying.

They made their way via air cab to the business district, and Blank was right, the hotel was pretty lavish. Considering the exhausting adventure they'd been through, it wasn't long before Blank fell asleep. Ruby said she felt like staying up a bit longer, and the last Blank saw of her she was staring out the window as the city lights came on.

After a long sleep, Blank awoke in the middle of the night, with Ruby nowhere to be found. Her bed hadn't been slept in. All he could find was a note left for him in her handwriting.

* * *

Garnet rested her hands on the edge of the tower, singing idly. An old song, long buried in her memories, like the blue light with Kuja. The doves weren't afraid of her, and perched there, as if enjoying her fair melody. Below, in the city, the Festival of the Hunt was coming to an end. So many lives, such a big city. Here, she probably wouldn't mind being Queen. Cid and his people seemed a lot more relaxed to each other. Of course, Cid wasn't lonely. He had Hilda, and what did she have? Zidane. Her one true shining light in the gloom of her life. But now something was wrong with him. She wanted her Zidane back, the one she had met and fell in love with, not the one who did things behind her back. His recent actions may have been thrown into doubt, but her love for him, that was the one thing that could never be questioned. Steiner and Beatrix could go to war, or stay comfortable behind the velvet rope of their duties. Her mother and father had each other, and they had passed on. But Zidane was of her kind. They were on equal wavelengths. He promised he would always be there for her. He loved her so much he would move the stars for her.

This song always brought her good memories of him. It was her song, the one that made her feel secure and safe, that both Dagger and Garnet could sing. 

As she came to a close, she was startled by a soft clapping from somewhere behind her that scared the birds away.

There was Kuja, perched like a cat on one of the pillars, grinning and clapping his hands. 

"How long have you been there?" she asked.

"Not long." was Kuja's reply. "Long enough to appreciate the music. Unusual, but pretty nice."

"It's very personal." Garnet stated.

"Oh, I don't doubt that at all." said Kuja, with a strange look on his face. Then she caught it. Zidane done it as well. Something wrong, something out of place, as if Kuja and Zidane were …extra-human somehow. It was in the eyes, but spread out into the face. Something _behind the eyes_, wearing a human's face. It was sort of like noticing someone's make-up.

"Is there something in particular you came to talk about?" Garnet asked, all of a sudden strangely comfortable with the distance between them.

"Sure." said Kuja. "Zidane."

"Zidane?"

"Who is he, where does he come from, what are you to him, what does he want, that sort of thing." Kuja explained.

"I fail to see why it's any business of yours."

"It's not business, it's personal."

Silence hung in the hair for a few moments. "Why do you want to know about Zidane?" Garnet asked finally.

Kuja looked away, out towards the setting sun. "I don't know for sure." he admitted. "He seems familiar to me. I feel that he's connected to me somehow. Like I should know him but I don't."

"He's never mentioned anyone like you in all the time I've known him." Garnet assured.

"How long's that been, then?"

"Long enough." she replied, sternly, crossing her arms.

More silence.

"Where is he from?" Kuja asked abruptly.

"He's the Duke of Treno." said Garnet, implying that he should know that.

"Yes, but is he from there originally?"

"I believe so, yes. He travels a lot, though."

"Any family?"

"No, are you nearly finished?"

Kuja sighed, knowing he was getting nowhere. He looked out across the regency, from South Gate (with traces of smoke still rising from it) to the sun setting over the Aerbs Mountains. Alexandria was over there, somewhere.

"Do you want to go home?" Kuja asked. It was an honest question. Garnet was about to answer, but stopped herself and wondered. Then she realized Kuja had caught her out. He was testing her, to see how well she could choose between being Garnet and being Dagger. Garnet would have said yes immediately, but Dagger would have been reluctant. The indecisiveness was evidence enough of her change. She looked up from her conundrum, to see Kuja grinning again.

"Here's one for you." he announced. "I heard once that every little girl dreams of being a princess. …So what does every young princess dream of?" Garnet stood there, as if the question put weights in her boots. "Don't worry, you don't have to answer now. Just a little food for thought."

Suddenly, the clanking of armor interrupted them. An out of breath Beatrix arrived up the stairs, her obvious exhaustion not barring her from saluting. She done a double take when she saw Kuja perched up on the pillars. "What are _you_ doing here? Never mind, I have urgent news. Your majesty," she gasped, turning to Garnet. "The Regent needs to see you immediately. There's been an incident."

"What sort of incident?" Kuja asked. Beatrix almost refused, but could see Garnet was as eager for the answer; it might as well have been her that asked it.

"War has broken out. Alexandria has invaded Burmecia."

* * *

It had happened right in the middle of the award ceremony.  Fratley had broken the long-standing record by a huge margin, scoring just over two hundred points. He'd been awarded the trophy of Master Hunter and a magical ring as a bonus. Cid had congratulated him personally, and Beatrix was there too, having taken an interest in the festival. Admittedly, she regretted being too late to register for the hunt, but hopefully would participate next year.

"Regent…" came a croaking voice from the hallway. There was a Burmecian soldier, propping himself against the door. He stumbled forward and collapsed in Fratley's arms, who helped him to the floor gently.

"What's the meaning of this?" Cid demanded, then halted, as if noticing the soldier's wounds for the first time. The poor man was on the brink of blindness, his body pierced by arrows and blood oozing from under his armor. There were burns on his skin and clothes. 

"I bring word from our king…" he gasped. "Alexandria has …invaded us."

"What?" Beatrix cried. "No!"

"Alexandrian troops…" the soldier continued. "Led by… Sir Steiner and another… aided by an army of… Mages…"

Beatrix was wide-eyed in horror. Steiner! No, it couldn't be! There _must_ have been some mistake. Then she remembered what the others said about Dali, and all the stores of weapons. And they had seen black mages being produced on an assembly line. And weren't those cargo ships delivering to Alexandria?

Beatrix's head was spinning. It was like she'd fallen into this completely bizarre and utterly _wrong_ version of her world, and things were slipping out of control. 

"…He's gone." said Fratley, looking at Beatrix. They suddenly seemed both as anxious as each other over this sudden incident.

"Find the Queen!" Cid ordered, snapping them out of it. "Tell her what has happened immediately!"

* * *

As soon as Dagger arrived, an emergency meeting was called. Kuja came along too. As Beatrix meant to bar him from entering, Cid said it was okay, and that Kuja may come in useful. Kuja had then given him a dangerous stare. Since Fratley had been there when the soldier arrived, and he was Burmecian, he was in too. 

"Then there can be no denying it." Hilda announced. "A communications blackout can only mean one thing; an invasion."

"I can't believe this is happening…" Garnet said, still in shock.

"You were there at Dali." Kuja reminded her. "You saw the mages in the crates marked for Alexandria with your own eyes."

"But, Steiner would never launch an invasion!" Garnet cried, looking at everyone with pleading eyes. "Why is this happening?"

"You don't think they're looking for the Queen in Burmecia, do you?" Fratley asked anyone who would answer. This brought a hush over them all. Beatrix was first to speak.

"If I was Steiner, and I believed Burmecia had kidnapped the Queen, it _would_ be viewed as an act of war. But there's absolutely no evidence for that! It was Lindblum that was behind the abduction!"

"The wonder of Alexandrian military intelligence." Kuja hissed under his breath.

"Military intelligence is a contradiction in terms." Fratley offered.

"Talking about the situation will do nothing to resolve it." Cid announced. "Now's the moment for action, but I'm afraid there can be very little from Lindblum's forces."

"What?!" Garnet and Beatrix chimed in unison. 

"Because of the Festival, there are hardly any men left in the castle." Cid explained. "The army takes time to mobilize. And if I call back the 4th Aerial Division from the border, that shall leave us with no eyes over Alexandria."

"And the bit you're not telling us?" Kuja probed.

Cid looked at him, but continued. "All this talk of a black mage army says that Alexandria has a secret weapon, and an ultra-powerful one at that. We don't want to risk an invasion by Alexandria ourselves unless we know what we're up against."

"Just great." said Fratley. "So what do you want us to do? Sit and wait for Alexandria to send us a letter while Burmecians die? Hell with that!" He grabbed his pike and made for the door.

"On the contrary." said Cid, stopping him. "I want to send a team into Burmecia." Everyone stopped and stared. "No Lindblum troops. This mission is top secret."

"I'm going!" Garnet declared, standing up.

"No, your majesty!" said Beatrix. "You of all people must not go."

"Beatrix is right." said Cid. "I can't send you into a war zone."

"It's _my people_!" Garnet pleaded. "They'll listen to me!"

"I'm sorry." said Cid, resting a hand on her shoulder. "But try to understand, we can't let you go into such a dangerous place. You'll be safe here."

"Beatrix said it herself!" Garnet cried. "They're looking for me! If I show up, they'll stop their attack!"

"Or you could be killed by one of those mages without a thought." Cid said flatly. "I'm afraid it's out of the question."

"…Then who is going?" she asked quietly.

"Me." said Fratley. There was no way he could be stirred. 

"And I take it you'll be hiring me again?" Kuja asked Cid, who nodded. "Good. I'll negotiate the fee when I get back, this time."

"Looks like it's just us, then." said Fratley.

"Yet again." 

"Take what you need from the armory." Cid offered. "I regret I can't give you an airship, but I'll open the Dragon's Gate. From there, you cross under the Mist to Gizmaluke's Grotto on foot, that'll take you into Burmecia. You leave in two hours, any questions?"

There were none. The two professionals simply nodded at each other and headed down towards the armory. Garnet watched them go, then felt strangely comforted by Beatrix's hand on her shoulder. "We'll get to the bottom of this." she assured.

* * *

It was about an hour later. Garnet sat in the guest bedroom, looking out the window at the night sky. _If I stay here, I'll go insane_ she thought. Beatrix was on a chair, just outside the door. Garnet had asked her to leave her alone. A plan was already starting to form in her head. There was no way, _absolutely no way_ she could just sit here in this lavish bedroom and rest her head on soft pillows while Alexandrian blood was spilled needlessly on foreign soil, _in her name. _She had to do something, and she was already working on it. 

Okay, so she couldn't go with Fratley and Kuja. They wouldn't let her, even if she tried to follow them. Even if she did try to go anywhere, Beatrix would just stop her. If she was going to go anywhere, it would have to be without Beatrix. That left who? In fact, it also left _where_. She couldn't go to Burmecia, that was obvious. So, it would have to be Alexandria. Yes, that was it! She'd return to Alexandria and immediately order Steiner to call off the war. Stop the problem at it's source, that was it. 

But she couldn't do it alone. That was a sad fact. Kuja and Beatrix were out of the question. So who, then? Then it struck her. Ruby. She would ask Ruby to help her! It was so simple, Garnet wondered why she hadn't thought of it before. Ruby knew her way around the country, and she would definitely help out her friend.

The thought lingered for a while, giving Garnet a smile. She had made a _friend_ with someone from the outside world. It was oddly comforting, to know that if she could do that, she could do this mission.

_I heard once that every little girl dreams of being a princess…_

Alright, the time for thinking was over. She'd made up her mind, there was no stopping her now.

_So what does every young princess dream of?_

It was time to be Dagger again, she decided, reaching for the cabinet and pulling out her scepter, that Kuja had given her in Dali. And the first thing Dagger was going to do was escape.

* * *

Beatrix nodded briefly at the Lindblum guard who knocked on the door of the guest bedroom. Garnet had asked for some food to be brought up to her room. Beatrix wondered idly how the Queen could feel like eating at a time like this, but nevertheless, she allowed the guard through. 

The guard took slightly longer than necessary, but that wasn't exactly cause for alarm, was it? The guard reappeared, closed the door behind him and set off back down the hall the way he had come. Beatrix didn't even care, she was too deep in thought. _Steiner, why this?_ she wondered. _You were always so jingoistic, I know, but this? It doesn't make any sense_. She soon wished she was going with Kuja and Fratley, to help get to the bottom of this. It really must be hurting Garnet, she thought, to know that this was all being done in her name, and it was the last thing she had ever wanted to happen as a result of her actions. 

She sat there thinking for a while, about what to do, and what was going to happen to Alexandria in all of this. After a while, she heard the bell toll midnight. It wouldn't be long, only half an hour or so before Kuja and Fratley set out. Beatrix decided to go to talk to Garnet. 

She quietly opened the door to her room and stepped into darkness. Patches of moonlight fell across the floor. From the bed, Beatrix could hear snoring. She cautiously drew her sword, knowing Garnet didn't snore. As she walked up the carpeted steps, she could see the tray with food on it, uneaten. Someone was in the bed, hidden under the covers. Beatrix saw blond hair, and immediately pulled back the sheets. It was a man, clad only in his underclothes, and a big lump on the side of his head. 

Garnet was nowhere to be found in the whole castle.

* * *

She was, however, running through the moonlit streets of Lindblum city, looking for Ruby and Blank's hotel. She pulled the hood tighter over her head and walked briskly across an open square. It had been the oldest trick in the book, and Dagger had been amazed it had worked.

She had ordered some food be brought up to her room, and when the guard had entered, she'd knocked him out with the scepter and taken his uniform. They covered the entire body, so there was no real risk of her being caught. Saying "sorry" to the poor guard with the concussion _after_ she had knocked him unconscious was particularly useless, but sometimes you just can't fight character. 

After escaping the castle, she'd ditched the uniform and set off looking for Ruby. She was now rapping on the door of her hotel room. "Okay, okay, I hear ya!" came Ruby's muffled voice. She opened the door and stared in surprise as Dagger lowered her hood. "Dagger?!? Whut are ya doing here? Y'all are supposed to be living happily ever after!"

"Not just yet, Ruby." Dagger sighed. "I need your help."

"To do what?"

"I need you to help me get back to Alexandria. War has broken out. My people have invaded Burmecia, and I think it's because of me."

"Holy Hannah!" Ruby gasped. The she frowned for a second. "Hey, how did you know Ah was here?" At this, Dagger held up the note Ruby had left for Tantalus. "I asked people where I could find Tantalus, and I found one of your hideouts. You left this note in there."

"Alright," said Ruby. "When do we leave?" Dagger looked down the hall. "Now, huh? Alright, just hang on a sec. Ah just can't leave Blank out of the blue…"

Ruby was packed in five minutes. They were both gone in six, with a note on the table the only clue to where they had gone.

* * *

"There's more to her than meets the eye." said Fratley. "I'm impressed."

"I'm not." Beatrix scowled. "Who does she think she is, running off like that?"

"She thinks she's the Queen of Alexandria." said Kuja. "And she's right."

The entire castle had been searched, to no avail. Garnet had made good her escape. "Procrastination leads nowhere." said Cid. "Truly, nothing can change the fact that Garnet has run away. The question now is of what to do about it."

"She wanted to go to Burmecia." Beatrix said. "It's likely that's a safe bet."

"Good job you're not a gambling lady!" came a voice Beatrix had hoped to forget. Blank entered, escorted by two Lindblum guards. "Sir!" said one. "This man claims to have knowledge of the Queen's whereabouts."

"Thank you." said Cid. "Leave him here."

Blank held up the note, which Beatrix snatched immediately. "You're welcome." he said.

"Have gone to Alexandria with Dagger." Beatrix read aloud. "Something about stopping the problem at it's source. I'll take care of her, so don't worry about us. Take care of yourself – Ruby."

"Smart girl." said Kuja. "She knew she couldn't go to Burmecia, so she headed for Alexandria to put a stop to the problem there."

"Without me." said Beatrix, crushing the note with her fist.

"Oh, and you'd have let her go, would you?" Kuja asked. Beatrix remained silent. "I'm going after her." she said, finally. Blank snorted. "Something funny?" Beatrix asked. 

"They've long got a head-start." Blank explained. "Heck, they could be over South Gate already by now. By the time you catch up with them, they'll already be inside Alexandria…" Blank fell silent when he remembered just how tough Beatrix was.

"You've got an alternative, then?" she growled.

"I do." said Kuja. "Come with us."

Everyone fell silent at this, then Beatrix laughed. "With _you_? To Burmecia? Why?"

"You want to stop this war, right?" Kuja asked. "I think Dagger had the right idea, the Alexandrian troops should listen to their commander. With you on our side, if we get caught then we can at least disrupt the chain of command a little."

Beatrix was about ready to reject it out of hand, but slowly the idea began to make sense. "My soldiers are running around without me…" she said softly. "And if Steiner is in command then he will definitely listen to me."

"Dagger's in good hands if she's with Ruby." said Blank. "She's made of stronger stuff than she looks. She knows her way around the world, believe me. She grew up with a traveling theatre troupe, so she's familiar with most of the towns and cities around the continent, and if they're only crossing into Alexandria, they should be fine."

"Nevertheless." said Cid. "It will still be wise to alert the guard to keep a look out for Garnet."

"Dagger won't let herself get caught." said Kuja, with an admiring grin on his face, mentally adding. Garnet would easily be caught, but she's learned some things since becoming Dagger…

"So is she coming with us or not?" Fratley asked urgently, itching to leave. Beatrix nodded and made up her mind. "Okay." she said. "My duty is to my Queen and country. I must safeguard Alexandria in whatever way I can. I'll go to Burmecia in Garnet's name and put a stop to this once and for all."

With that, she checked her sword and joined Fratley and Kuja. 

"What about me?" asked Blank.

The three warriors looked at him. Cid was looking at him as well. "You're one of those Tantalus fellows, aren't you?"

"That's right." Blank replied. "Ruby's gone, the gang are gone, I've got nowhere else to go but sit around here and wait for either of them to come back. Let me go, I can use a sword, and you never know when a thief will come in handy."

Beatrix and Fratley looked at each other, doubtful. Cid looked dubious too. "I'll vouch for him." said Kuja unexpectedly. Everyone was surprised, especially Blank. "Really?"

"You would say no to an extra sword?" asked Kuja. "If he keeps to the rear and doesn't talk much, he's handy in a fight, now are we going or not?"

"Yes!" said Beatrix and Fratley in unison.

"Good, let's be gone then."

As the three warriors headed for the elevator down to the base level, Blank waited until they were out of earshot and turned quickly to Cid. "You got a sword I can borrow, your regencyness? I sorta left mine back at the hotel."

Cid looked at him oddly, and gestured to a guard, who quickly handed Blank his sword. "Thanks, I'll have it back in one piece. Hold my calls til I get back!"

With that, he dashed after the others and jumped into the left as they began to descend to the base level. "We have to pass through Gizmaluke's Grotto to get to Burmecia." Fratley explained. "It's been a long time since I've been there, but I know the way through."

The elevator slid down into the base level. The Dragon's Gate was already open before them. Faint wisps of Mist wafted in from the night air outside. Without a word between them, they slipped out through the gate and out into the dark night, with their mission lying before them as profound as the dark Mist that surrounded them, blocking out the stars and moons under a blanket of hideous gray.

*~*~*~*~*~*


	6. Cracked Actor

Chapter VI; "Cracked Actor" 

**Gizmaluke's Grotto & South Gate**

Dagger yawned. They had been walking all night, and by now the sun was slowly beginning to rise over the Easternmost of the Aerbs mountains. She looked ahead and up the hill, towards where South Gate was still being repaired. At least it had stopped smoking, anyway…

By her side, Ruby winked at her. "Ah reckon ya'd be able to get some sleep on the cable car." she said.

"I've heard about them." replied Dagger. "They were built as a sign of the solidarity and peace between Alexandria and Lindblum. And they run on Mist, just like the airships."

"Well, solidarity and peace is what we're trying to accomplish." Ruby joked. "…After we get past the guards…"

Dagger followed her gaze. Sure enough, there were two guards in front of the heavyset doors that led to the yard in front of the cable car station. "Sneaking around them could be difficult…" Dagger mused aloud.

"Ah think Blank told me that Kuja got around them by going the long way, directly up the mountain, then jumped off the tip to land on the Prima Vista." said Ruby. The two of them slowly cast their eyes up the mountain. "Somehow I doubt we'll be doing that."

"Well we can't turn back!" said Dagger.

"Let's see if we can smooth-talk our way through." suggested Ruby. They casually made their way up the steps towards the guards. They were a perfect contrast, one short and fat and the other tall and lanky. It seemed to be a universal constant throughout the multiverse that on any world where somebody needs to get past the guards, said guards will be diametrically opposed in grounds of personality and build, and by the time the main character arrives, said guards are knee-deep in inane conversation, which will provide invaluable information to the hero later on, such as "So we moved the princess to the cell in the west tower, not the east tower, the west one." or "I heard that the doctor is only giving the United Nations three hours to give in to his demands before he fires the Genesis Device, being sneakily hidden on the second floor.". It's probably likely that the guards are completely aware of this, seeing as how the only other alternative is for the hero to bludgeon them unconscious and steal their uniform. Oh yes, and they tend to have names like…

"Hey, Biggs, how do you feel about bringing the wife around for dinner with us on Tuesday?" asked Wedge.

Wedge clung to his halberd and yawned. With the rising sun, their shift was almost up. "No thanks." he replied.

"Any particular reason?"

"No, not really."

"Fair enough."

"Excuse me…" said Ruby.

"Hold it right there!" snapped Wedge, thrusting the halberd at them. The he looked at Biggs. "Like that?" Biggs nodded approvingly. "Well, your hold-it-right-there was good, but you're still not getting the thrusting your halberd quite right. But after you've done it a few times, you'll get used to it."

Ruby and Dagger looked blankly at each other. "Sorry about that." Said Biggs. "New guy, and I'm training him in."

He turned to Wedge. "Now you ask them what the purpose of their visit is."

"We're here to–"

"Wait for him to ask it!" Biggs said, interrupting Ruby. "Go ahead, lad."

"Hem-hem!" Wedge cleared his throat. "State your business!    …good?"

"Uhm, you were a little too forward. A simple what's-the-purpose-of-your-visit is usually called for most of the time. A good state-your-business should only be really used for shady characters, who you think might be up to something like trying to talk their way past a guard or something. Puts you in authority and them off guard." explained Biggs.

"I thought he was alright." stated Dagger.

"Thank'ee kindly, ma'am." Wedge replied.

"So, why are you here?" Biggs asked them, as if the last five minutes had suddenly been deleted entirely from history. "We're here to make our way into Alexandria." Ruby replied. "We're two actresses, you see, and we're wanted in Alexandria to perform a play before Queen Garnet herself. You know Lowell? He himself asked for us. We're delighted, because we're big fans of his."

"Well, that makes three of you, then." laughed Wedge, nudging his comrade in ribs, who chuckled softly. 

"Everyone's a comedian." Ruby replied, and adding under her breath. "Except you two…"

"May we cross, then?" Dagger asked, improvising on Ruby's stories. "We're sisters, you see, and our mother lives in Alexandria. We want to see her before we have to go to the theater."

Biggs raised a Roger Moore-esque eyebrow. "What's the name of the play?" he asked suspiciously. Ruby and Dagger looked at each other, then Ruby answered. "It's called '_Raspberry Atmosphere'." _

"And what's it about?"

Now it was Dagger's turn to improvise. "Well, there's this man." she began. "And he worked with this lady, and they're in love, but they don't do anything about their feelings because they work together, and they're trying to raise this girl to one day become a Queen, but instead she runs away with this young man because they were in love, but then she changes her mind and goes home, but her love came after her, and he fought her father-figure for her. He won, and the father died. The girl was in despair and so she took a sword and killed herself. Her lover could not live without her and what he had done, so he stabbed himself on his own sword and died. And in the end, when the lady saw what had happened to everyone she held dear, she climbed to the highest balcony in the land and dove from it." She finished a little out of breath. Ruby stared at her and the guards anxiously.

"I think I saw that one." Said Wedge, eventually. Ruby and Dagger relaxed.

"Yeah, it was sad." agreed Biggs. "Such a real tragedy."

"I think that Avon bloke actually wrote it as a comedy."

"Really?"

"So can we cross?" asked Ruby. Biggs stared at her and Dagger, then grinned. "Well, since you're going to Alexandria, I should probably tell ya anyways. Queen Garnet isn't even in Alexandria. She's here! And we've got orders to stop her if she tries to cross through here."

Dagger's nerves were on end, but Ruby relaxed her easily. "Know what she looks like, do ya?" she asked.

"Regretfully, I've never seen her with my own eyes…" Biggs began.

"She's supposed to be the most beautiful babe in the entire Mist continent!" Wedge yelled.

"BUT," Biggs continued, ignoring his colleague's interruption. "We were given her description."

"Good." Said Ruby. "Then you'll be lucky to set your eyes on her beautiful green hair."

"Her what?" Biggs asked suddenly.

"That's not in yer description?" Ruby asked. "Wow, you probably got a lot wrong. She wears red a lot, has green hair, and knows a  bit of magic, well I see that last one was the only thing you got right."

"You're sure of this?" Biggs asked.

"We _come from Alexandria." Said Dagger, getting braver. "I think we know what our own Queen looks like."_

"Well, um, then, thanks for your help." Biggs replied. "I'll make sure this description of Queen Garnet is updated as soon as possible. Thank you."

"It was our pleasure." Said Dagger. "After all, who can we perform to if the Queen is not there?"

"Indeed." Replied Biggs, and waved to one of the towers on either side of the doors. A guard inside pulled a lever and the doors swung outward with a groan. Dagger and Ruby calmly walked through, and waited for the doors to slowly slam shut behind them before sagging against each other and sighing in relief.

"You're a natural, girl." Said Ruby.

"Thanks."

They looked around the quad of Bohden Gate. There were several carts and stalls around. And there were certainly lots of workers, going to and fro about their daily business. Many human, many not. The whole place was bustling with activity, and this was only morning.

"Wow." Said Dagger. "I had no idea…"

Ruby smiled. "Y'all were beating yerself up over South Gate, huh? Well, look on da bright siade. Ye've given these people work, where before they were'all just unemployed. Remember, when something bad happens, some good always comes out of it."

Dagger nodded with a smile. They made their way towards an alleyway around to the back of the quad, to where the cable car station was located. It was a small flat area at the base of an incredibly steep hill that led up to South Gate's grand citadel at the very top. Here, there was only a shop, a map, and a bench for people to sit on while waiting for the cable car to arrive. 

"I've never seen this place before…" Dagger mused. "Only read about it. It's fantastic!"

"Heard they were built as a symbol of peace between Alexandria and Lindblum…" Ruby said before she could stop herself. Dagger frowned. "Um, let's just get aboard, shall we?"

They walked up the steps toward the boarding platform. The attendant regarded them mindlessly. "Gate pass?" he asked. Dagger and Ruby exchanged glances. Of all the things to forget…

"We–" Ruby began, then was cut off by someone yelling. One of the Gate Guards came running through the alley. It was the younger one, Wedge. "Thank gods I caught you!" he yelled, running up the steps towards them. He stopped, out of breath and leaning on his pike. "Biggs just reminded me, you two ladies don't have a Gate Pass! You can't cross without a Gate Pass, so, um, here ya go."

He fished the document out of his pockets and thrust it into Dagger's hands, all the while smiling sheepishly at her. "Um, there y'are ma'am." He said, blushing. He stood there for a few moments more, like an actor who had forgotten his lines. Then turned around and ran back to the alley.

"That was… odd." Dagger announced.

Ruby grinned. "Nobody's ever told you you're quite the looker?" she asked. "A face that could launch a thousand ships, I've heard say. Personally, I'll be happy with just the one cable car." Dagger blushed and showed the Gate Pass to the attendant, who let them board the car easily. It looked like the locomotive of a train, only built on a 45° angle on the side of the mountain. Inside, however, it was perfectly flat.

"I call the window seat!" Ruby joked, throwing herself into one of the seats and looking out the window. Dagger gracefully sat down beside her and looked in Ruby's direction, seeing the landscape beside them. There was a shudder as the Mist-powered cable car started up and began to move upwards.

"So, what about you?" Dagger asked.

"Hmm?" Ruby hummed absent-mindedly.

"What's your story, if you don't mind me asking?"

Ruby looked back at Dagger and smiled. "Sure you wanna hear it?" 

"Well, it's a long trip." Dagger replied. "We should talk about something. And you know my story, and I'd like to hear about you. Where are you from, and all that?"

Ruby sighed and began her tale.

"It ain't a happy story, if that's what yer lookin' fer, girl." she said. "But it ain't sad either. Ah don't really know where Ah came from. Mah accent makes me sound all 'glammerus' and exotic, but it's really from having no real home. It's little bits of other accents all mashed inta one, ya see. Ah never had a real home before. Mah parents were both actors, and part of a wandering theatre group. We used to travel the whole Mist Continent puttin' on plays few the locals. That's how Ah grew up, on the stage, around costumes, greasepaint and cardboard scenery. Ah couldn't be anything other than an actress, but that's what Ah wanted to be."

"I see…" said Dagger. "Is your theatre group still around?" 

Ruby looked sad. "Naw." She said. "They're all dead, long time ago."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Ruby replied. "It happened when Ah was very young, about ten years old, on the road to Lindblum. We were ambushed by bandits. They stole everything and killed everyone, except for me. I was left to fend fer mahself, and that's when Baku of Tantalus found me. He took me to Lindblum, and introduced me to his little band of actors and thieves. Ah was amazed, since most of them were the same age as me. They said they had never had an actress with the group before. Ah taught them how to act, and they taught me how to use a sword and other weapons. And that's how we lived, sorta like Ah had found a whole new family. Baku is like an adoptive father. Marcus and Cinna are like funny older brothers. The Benero triplets and the band are like odd cousins, and then there's Blank… Blank is… agh, well, he gets on mah nerves a lot, but he can be pretty funny at times too, ya know? Ah just wish he could be a bit more mature, Ah guess is what I'm saying… So, anyways, that's pretty much me. Ruby Rhodes – full time actress, part time thief. That's mah story. Ya impressed?"

Beside her, Dagger had slowly nodded off to sleep. She _had been up all night, after all. Ruby grinned. "Always like to keep mah audience __riveted!" With that, she turned and looked back out the window, watching the landscape drift past. "It's so pretty…" she whispered._

* * *

"It's so _horrible!" Blank yelled, standing up out of the water. Kuja glowered at him. Mostly because Beatrix and Fratley glowered at Kuja. _

"Remind me who decided to let him come with us?" Beatrix asked deliberately.

Fratley wiped the blood clean from his spear. "It could have been worse, Mister Blank." He said. "I could have accidentally gutted you as well."

Blank glared at him, then continued washing the blood from his body. "Gee, there's a comforting thought." Blank's mood was easily understandable, considering what he had just been through, Beatrix reckoned. Now if only he would shut up about it.

She poked the recently-deceased Master Gizmaluke with the tip of her sword. What had happened to _him, now that was the question? The monster had looked a little like the statue of the water god Leviathan she had seen in a place called Dagurreo, very far away. Perhaps the two were related?_

As soon as they had arrived at Gizmaluke's Grotto, things had been bad. Two mortally wounded Burmecian soldiers lay just outside the entrance, with scorch marks all over their bodies. The stench of burnt flesh and singed hair choked the atmosphere, already filled with dread. 

"The Black Mages, who are they…?" Fratley had tried to ask one of them, but he slumped over at Fratley's touch, stone dead. The other hadn't had to wait long to follow his friend. "Protect… our king…" had been his last request.

They had made their way into the caves, before coming across a sealed door with a bell engraved on it. Neither Kuja's magic or Beatrix's strength could even jar it slightly. 

"Harmony Locks." Fratley had stated, then began searching his many pockets, eventually pulling out an ancient-looking bell, which he began to ring loudly.

"Yikes, man, cut it out!" Blank had yelled. "This is supposed to be a _secret mission, remember? Why are you announcing us?"_

"Harmony Locks can't be open by keys or a reverse sealing spell." Fratley replied. "They use _sound itself as a key. Bells like these are the keys to these doors." And as Fratley rung the bell, the bell in the door also rang, before both shattered and the door opened. "But these doors are for emergency use only." Fratley went on. "They're always open. When they're closed… it's to deter an invading army…"_

None of them had said a word as they moved further into the caves. Soon, they came to a large opening, with stairs and bell-doors leading off in different directions from an open clearing. As they crossed a narrow plank for a bridge, they heard a voice shouting. "KILL!"

Kuja gestured for the others to move quietly and stick to the shadows. The first voice was soon joined by a second. "KILL!"

Kuja and Blank looked around the corner. There was a Burmecian soldier, being advanced upon by two Black Mages. "No, stop!" the panic-stricken soldier screamed. 

"Black Mages!" Blank hissed back to Beatrix and Fratley. "We gotta help him!"

"We can't risk being spotted." Kuja said coldly.

"Hell with that!" snapped Blank and drew his sword, running out into the clearing and slicing into one of the Black Mages before it knew what was happening. Blank grinned in satisfaction. "He went down a lot easier than his big brothers." It was then that Blank realised the first Black Mage had noticed him. So had a third, which he hadn't seen.

"KILL!" they chimed in unison.

"Um, help?"

If it had been a prayer, it was granted. A blast of lightning shot out from Beatrix's sword, taking out the first Black Mage, and it's partner was taken down by Fratley, who ran it clean through with his spear. Kuja casually strode out of the shadows, clutching a throwing blade that hadn't been needed. 

"You're more of a doer than a thinker, aren't you Mister Blank?" Fratley had said.

"Yeah." Said Blank proudly. "Someone who'll act without considering the consequences."

"I'm amazed you took it as a compliment." Fratley replied, striding past Blank to the fallen soldier.

"Too late for me…" the dying man gasped. "Take this bell, you can use it to get through that door… Burmecia must not fall…"

"What about these Black Mages?" Kuja asked. 

"Who's controlling the Black Mages?" Fratley asked the soldier.

"A young blond man…" the dying soldier explained. "A man in rusty armor… and a very small Black Mage, almost like a child, passed through here. The man in the armor, he said he was moving on to Burmecia. The young man and the mage were headed for Master Gizmaluke…"

"Gizmaluke!" Fratley gasped.

"That the guy who owns this place?" Blank asked.

"Master Gizmaluke is like a sage to these people." Beatrix explained. "This is a holy place. Many pilgrims visit here to make their vows in front of Master Gizmaluke, or to get his blessing, or confess their sins, or be baptized in his waters…"

"Okay, I get it." Blank cut her off.

"Master Gizmaluke…" Fratley repeated again, then hung his head. Another memory had returned. _"We made our promise in front of Master Gizmaluke. When I return, we shall take our vows before him…"_

"Here, take this bell." Said the dying soldier. "It'll open up any Harmony Locked doors you choose. Please, protect our king…"

"I will protect Burmecia. You have my word." Fratley replied sincerely. The soldier then passed away in his arms. They wasted no time, however, in moving on, deeper still into the caves, encountering more Black Mages and mortally wounded or dead soldiers. Eventually, they came to Gizmaluke's actual cavern. Most of the chamber was flooded, and a semi-submerged path led to the exit and Burmecian territory. 

"I don't like it." Blank said. 

"There's an old Burmecian saying." Said Fratley. "Something doesn't smell right."

"I don't need your nose to tell me it's about to get funky in here…"

Beatrix and Kuja remained silent, scanning the room for threats. Beatrix's mind was still on what the dying soldier had said, though. _A man in armor? Either Steiner, or one of his Knights of Pluto, but the latter still indicated Steiner's involvement. Why?_

As she had been thinking, she had let her guard down, and not noticed _something moving in the water. Gizmaluke erupted out of the murky grey water and lunged at them. Kuja and Fratley dove clear, but Blank was winged and Beatrix caught a blow from his tail._

"This can't be Master Gizmaluke!" Fratley gasped. What had once been a holy sage was no little more than an out of control monster, intent on destroying them all. Seeing Fratley distracted, Kuja immediately shoved him out of the path of a powerful blow and flung several throwing blades at the fiend. They hit their target and the beast roared in pain. It then hung there in midair, staring at them. It's roving insanity-ridden eyes found Blank, the only one standing apart from the group. Gizmaluke immediately pounced upon him. Blank yelled out and struggled to get the creature off him, thrashing with his sword but to no avail.

Beatrix and Kuja took advantage of the fact that Gizmaluke was attacking only one of them, and began to attack him from the rear. "No." said Fratley, looking at the creature. "This is not the Gizmaluke from my memories…" With that, he ran and leapt phenomenally high into the air. He drew his spear at the crescendo of his leap, and as he sailed on gravity, pointed the blade straight for Gizmaluke's jugular. He landed with his full force behind the blade, and the beast howled in it's death-throes as a fountain of purple blood surged from the wound. Eventually, it stopped moving and fell silent.

Fratley looked grim. "It was the humane thing to do. Whoever they were, they stole his mind from him. It's worse than taking his life, forcing one of our holiest icons to live as little more than a savage beast."

Something thrashed around under Gizmaluke, and Blank finally broke free of it's grasp. He had been showered with blood from the creature, and was now at breaking point.

Which brought them up to here, Blank trying to clean himself, Kuja and Fratley talking while Beatrix thought about what to next. "I don't get it." She said. "Why would someone do this to Gizmaluke?"

"Probably to stop us?" Kuja suggested.

"Who knows we're coming?" Fratley asked.

"I don't think he means _us, us." Blank explained. "To stop anybody going in or out of Burmecia. I mean, you guys wanna protect the king, right? Well, Burmecia doesn't have airships, so this is the only way to Lindblum. My guess is, they're cutting off his escape routes."_

They all stared at him. How had _Blank of all people figured this out. "What?" he asked. "You've never seen a guy with brains before?"_

"_Is the king the reason for this war?" Kuja asked._

"I don't know." Beatrix replied. "We've never had any hostilities with Burmecia before. Maybe it's something the king knows?"

"Or has?" Fratley guessed.

"We'll never find out simply by staying here and talking." Said Kuja. "Burmecia City isn't far from here, by my guess. We have to hurry on."

They nodded, and made for the exit, and headed out across the soggy fields towards the city. Along the way, they passed by Burmecia Gate, and discovered signs that a battle had been fought there very recently. There was no time to rest, and this unearthing simply added fuel to their desire to get to the bottom of this mystery. They moved quickly back out across the fields and into the fog.

Slowly, after a while, it began to rain.

*~*~*~*~*~*


	7. Strangers When We Meet

Chapter VII; "Strangers When We Meet"  
  
\\\ Burmecia - Realm Of Eternal Rain ///  
  
By the time they reached Burmecia, the rain had become a downpour, washing over everything, saturating the war-torn streets and houses with it's constant unyielding torrent. In the skies, a storm a was rumbling. Thunder cracked the skies so loudly it looked like the few flashes of lightning were running timid of it's fury.  
  
Shivering and soaking, they arrived at the main archway, the entrance to the rain-slicked city. Blank chanced looking ahead, into the biting wind.  
  
"It's really coming down…" he muttered.  
  
"On average, it rains about three fifths out of every month in Burmecia." said Fratley, absently. "In our languange, we over thirty words for 'wet'."  
  
"And none for 'crispy', I'll bet."  
  
Kuja wiped his hair from his forehead and out of his eyes, standing by Beatrix. "There's nothing pleasant about this rain…" said Kuja, darkly. "It feels as though the raindrops are cursing our mission."  
  
Beatrix nodded and stood just inside the arch. "It's strange, I can't see any Alexandrian soldiers."  
  
"They'll probably be laying seige to the palace." Fratley announced, striding forward. Blank listened, remembering Gizmaluke's Grotto. "Is there a way they could have got the King out?" he asked.  
  
"Possibly." Fratley replied, then pointed his spear towards the dome of the palace, off in the distance. "But the ansewers lie there, not here."  
  
They ran into the city, sticking to single file with their weapons drawn. They moved stealthily, fearing Black Mage patrols around the ruined city. More than once they heard the cty of "KILL!" coming from off in the distance. Kuja led them, Fratley hot on his heels, with Beatrix covering them and Blank bringing up the rear.  
  
Upon reachng a deserted market, Kuja stopped and silently signalled for them to hide. Kuja and Fratley ducked into a drained fountain, while Beatrix and Blank hid behind an overturned apple cart.  
  
Beatrix looked over to Fratley, trying to read from his face what the situation was. Fratley only shrugged,. Beatrix turned back to Blank, and was mortified to discover he had relaxed his sword and was picking through the red apples for an edible one, which he soon found and took a hefty bite out of. Beatrix slapped him softly, giving him a look that said she was wondering what the hell he was doing.  
  
Blank offered her a bite and she looked away, rolling her eye. Blank shrugged and took another bite.  
  
Finally, the reason for their concealment became clear as a group of Black Mages sauntered through the market, looking for enemies. There was far too many to take on, and blowing their cover so soon after getting here would be a pretty stupid thing to do.  
  
Nevertheless, their nerves were strained as the killing machines passed within bare inches of the cart Blank and Beatrix were hiding behind. All it had to do was glance down with those pupil-less yellow glowing eyes and it would see them. Beatrix silently positioned her Save The Queen so that the blade was pointed right through a weak point in the cart's wood. The instant the Black Mage saw them she would drive the sowrd right through the cart and into it. Kuja tensed, readying a trio of throwing blades to back her up.  
  
But the moment never came. By sheer chance, the Mage didn't see them, and the patrol passed on, looking for Burmecian soldiers. The group emerged from their hiding places. Blank was still chewing on an apple. Beatrix slapped him yet again.  
  
"What was that?" she demanded.  
  
Blank shrugged. "Lunch." he said, by way of reply.  
  
"How can you think of eating at a time like this?"  
  
"I can stop thinking of eating at a time like this if I can finish this thing so I won't be hungry." Blank replied. Both of them stared at each other, with the kind of look you only give someone when you're pretty sure they come from Mars.  
  
"Unbelievable." Beatrix sighed.  
  
Kuja noticed Fratley staring at the city streched out before him. "Something on your mind, or one of those memories come rushing back?" he asked.  
  
"Just I've been away for a long time." Fratley replied. "I can remember this place, though. Been a long time since I had a place I called home. I thought I promised myself never to return here until I found Freya…"  
  
"Mitigating circumstances." said Kuja.  
  
"…Yeah."  
  
With that, they moved on, deeper into the ruined city. They only found a surprisingly few amount of dead Burmecian soldiers. But there were plenty of signs of battles, not the least of which were several scorch marks on the houses and buildings. Soon, they came to a house near the palace walls. They had to cross inside the shattered abode to make it to the roof. No easy task, considering the floor gave way beneath them in several spots. In the bedroom of one house, they found a dead Burmecian soldier.  
  
"There's no signs of battle here." said Fratley. "He must have his himself in here, then died from his wounds before help could come."  
  
"Hey, what's that in his hand?" Blank pointed out. The soldier was clutching a large bell in his hand. It looked similar to the ones Fratley had used to get them through Gizmaluke's Grotto, only larger in size and looking more ornate.  
  
"The key to a Harmony Lock." said Kuja, picking it up.  
  
"It looks different to the other ones…" said Beatrix.  
  
Fratley took it from Kuja. He looked at it, then pocketed it. "It must only open a specific door."  
  
True enough, it did. After going around to the back of the house, they came to a large rain-slicked balcony. There was a big Harmony Locked door resting there, looking pretty ominous.  
  
"Burmecia's royal palace will be beyond here." said Fratley, already ringing the bell, which shattered as soon as the door opened. "It must be in ruins, just like everything else."  
  
They all readied their weapons as the doors swung open. There was a grand dimly-lit stone staircase in there, reaching into the distance. "I take it we're going through there?" Blank asked nobody in particular.  
  
"The palace will be where the attackers were headed for." Kuja replied.  
  
"Let's not walk on eggshells." Beatrix spat. "It's Steiner, it has to be. I need to see him. I need to know why he's done this."  
  
"Steiner was the one who taught you, wasn't he?" Fratley asked her.  
  
"Yes, he was, partly. Why?"  
  
"Just wondering that if the worst happens, will you be able to raise your sword against him?"  
  
Beatrix said nothing, and stepped forth onto the stairs. As they followed her, they had barely gone a few steps when a trio of Burmecian soldiers came running down the steps towards them.  
  
"Identify yourselves!" the leader shouted as they drew their weapons.  
  
"They don't have to!" snapped another. "They're Alexandrian! That's General Beatrix!"  
  
"I'm not a part of the invading force!" she yelled back.  
  
"Lies!"  
  
"It's true!" snapped Fratley, pointing his pike at his fellow Burmecians.  
  
The soldiers regarded him for a moment, then lowered their weapons. "Sir Fratley?" they gasped.  
  
"Do I know you?" he asked.  
  
"My name is Dan." said the leader of the soldiers. "We've heard many tales about you, Sir Fratley. We heard you were dead. Wow, you really are him. …I thought you'd be taller."  
  
Kuja stepped forward. "What's going on here? Who are the invaders?"  
  
"They're being led by Burmecian troops." said Dan. "I don't know what they are exactly, but they look like living scarecrows. They have pointy hats, and just darkness where their faces should be."  
  
"Black Mages." said Blank. "They're all over the place."  
  
"Yes, I'm afriad Burmecia seems to have fallen to them." Dan said sadly. "They have a power we simply cannot fight…"  
  
"The king!" Fratley said suddenly. "Is he safe?"  
  
"We're evacuating to Cleyra now." Dan explained. "The king has already been extracted and is safely there already, thanks to a secret tunnel."  
  
"…The king has a secret tunnel to Cleyra?" Blank asked, surprised. "I thought nobody could get into that place. They got a big-ass sandstorm constantly blowing around it!"  
  
"The king has been using the tunnels to travel back and forth to Cleyra for some time." said Dan. "Anyways, we must make haste. We have been given the order to retreat and evacuate as many civilians and wounded to Cleyra or Lindblum. And you?"  
  
"We're investigating this attack." Beatrix explained. "We're trying find out who the invaders are, or why they have done this."  
  
"A man in armour interrogated some of our troops." said Dan. "He wanted to know where we were keeping Queen Garnet."  
  
"Garnet is not here!" Beatrix snapped.  
  
"I know that, and you know that." said Dan. ""But Alexandria seems to think Burmecia was responsible for her kidnapping."  
  
It was awful news, but there was a small ray of hope embedded in it, Beatrix decided. If Steiner thought Garnet was here and that's why he had started this invasion, then Beatrix could explain the truth to him, and get him to call it off. The damage to the relationship between Alexandria and Burmecia would still be done, but at least no more would have to die.  
  
"The palace is right back down the way we came from." said Dan. "We wish you good luck."  
  
With that, the soldiers were already gone. Fratley now led the way, bounding up the steps two at a time. After travelling through the tunnel, they came back outside again, and back into the familiar but unwelcome rain. "As soon as this is over, I'm going someplace very dry!" Blank growled.  
  
"Well, look at it like this." Beatrix hissed. "If you keep shouting, maybe a Black Mage will discover you and cast a few Fire spells on you. Then you'll be warm for the rest of your life."  
  
Blank went quiet, thought about saying something, then shut up.  
  
"Which way?" Kuja asked Fratley, who was looking around. There were stables to their right, and a chapel to the left. "That way." Fratley replied, pointing to the chapel. It proved to be good shelter from the rain, and a short-cut to the palace. The chapel was deserted and ransacked. Black Mages had been through here, there was no doubt about that.  
  
"This is not a pretty sight." Fratley muttered, staring at the fallen statue of the mighty Burmecian reptile god. A supporting pillar had been deliberately destroyed to bring the massive staute crashing down. "They attack our homes and our king, but our faith too? Is nothing sacred?"  
  
"Someone doesn't want this war to stop…" Beatrix said with a hint of dread. "Attacking over land and politics is one thing, but religion is another. Someone's trying to really ensure that bitter feelings will remain after the war ends."  
  
"I've noticed the Black Mages tend to just go after life forms." said Blank. "Kind of odd that they would attack a religious symbol, huh?"  
  
"Then Black Mages didn't do this." Fratley deduced. "It's too precise, too deliberate. This was the work of a calculated mind, and someone with an incredible array of power at their disposal."  
  
"Who would have the power to do something like this?" Beatrix asked.  
  
"Me, for one." said Kuja, speaking up for the first time. "The palace is right behind here. Let's move on."  
  
With the quick change in subject, they emerged on the other side of the chapel.  
  
It lay in ruins. The palace had been almost completely decimated in the attack, with just the outer shell and strong walls surviving. Great statues of long-passed warriors lined the interior and exterior, silent and uncaring that their kingdom lay defeated. There did not seem to be a way in.  
  
"It's worse than I thought." Fratley groaned at the sight of it.  
  
"Ummm, hey man, try not to let it get to ya?" Blank suggested, patting Fratley on the shoulder. "At least they got the king out, right?"  
  
"…at the cost of a nation…" Fratley replied bitterly.  
  
Blank sighed and shrugged. So much for the glass being half-full.  
  
"Should we go in?" Beatrix ventured.  
  
"I don't believe the front door is an option." said Kuja, flatly, looking upwards into the rain. A massive statue of a great warrior Fratley probably knew the name of stood there, clutching an immense sword. The statue did offer plenty of grips and footholds…  
  
"Maybe we should…"  
  
He was cut off by the sound of angered yelling from within the palace. There was a lot of thrashing about, like the furniture was being destroyed. Fratley braced himself and vaulted, using his powerful hind legs to leap up and into the palace before anyone could stop him.  
  
"Dammit." Kuja muttered, and started to climb up the statue. Blank and Beatrix followed suit, and the three of them scaled the statue, pounding rain lashing at them harder the higher up they went, before finally pulling themselves over the side, through a glassless windowframe and into the palace. This seemed to be some sort of forgotten walkway. Man-sized statues kept them from anyone seeing them from inside the bowl-shaped main area of the palace. The roof lay completely torn open like a gaping wound, and the sky continued to pour in rain. Kuja spotted Fratley crouching behind one of the many statues and urged Beatrix and Blank to follow him towards the Burmecian mercenary.  
  
"What's-" Blank began but Fratley quickly shushed him, and gestured for silence, then pointed down into the open area. Keeping themselves concealed by the statues, they kept quiet and looking at what Fratley had been observing. There were three people there, talking amongst themselves.  
  
"Zidane…" muttered Kuja.  
  
"Zidane's here?" Beatrix wondered aloud. "So they really do believe Garnet is here… But why?"  
  
"Sssh!" Blank hissed. "I can't hear what they're saying!"  
  
***  
  
"Where is it?!" Zidane hissed under his breath, looking around the open area at all the furniture, antiques and royal furnishings he'd destroyed in his search. "Where is it?!?"  
  
"Where is what, my Lord?" Steiner asked.  
  
Zidane frowned. "I'm a Duke, not a Lord." he muttered to himself and turned back to face Steiner. "I said, 'where is she?' You must have heard me wrong."  
  
"Yes my Lord." said Steiner, then saluted. "My Lord! My knights will be returningat any moment! With luck, they'll know where these vermin are keeping our beloved Queen."  
  
Not bloody likely, Zidane thought.  
  
Vivi stayed quiet, as he had been throughout the entire invasion. It was nagging at him, why all this had happened. Zidane had claimed to have evidence that the Burmecians were behind the kidnapping of Queen Garnet, but how had he known that? Why had the Burmecians done this out of the blue, and no warnings or diplomacy had been attempted on either side. Zidane had simply shown his evidence to Steiner, and the next thing he knew, Vivi was being brought from tranquil Alexandria into the middle of a war zone.  
  
…And all his brothers had been doing the fighting. Vivi didn't know why they couldn't seem to talk or think like him, and yet they were fighting this war. Zidane said that it was alright. The Black Mages didn't feel pain, so they couldn't get hurt, and besides, they were fighting for world peace, which was a noble cause. When he asked why he was the only one who could think and talk, Zidane simply told Vivi that he was… 'special'.  
  
The clanking of armor startled him, then Vivi saw that it was two of Steiner's knights returning.  
  
"Knights Blutzen and Kohel, reporting sir!" announced one with a salute.  
  
"Only two of you?" Steiner observed.  
  
"The others are still searching, sir." said Kohel. "We regret to report we still can't find a single lead or clue to the Queen's location."  
  
"She must be here!" Steiner yelled. "Keep searching!"  
  
"Wait!" said Zidane, suddenly. A new plan was forming. So the object of his searches was not here after all. Most likely the King had it on him. And the most likely place he would head for would be… Oh, how clever of them. And also, how utterly stupid. This would be his chance to take two birds with one stone.  
  
"If they have all evacuated, then they would most likely have taken the Queen with them, no?" Zidane suggested. "Perhaps they still want to use her to hold your fair kingdom to ransom, eh Steiner?"  
  
Steiner frowned, angered by the Burmecian's guile and also ashamed that he had let them get away with the Queen. "Where would they go, my Lord?" he asked. "The last I heard, this incredible Mage Soldiers of yours had blocked their escape route through Gizmaluke's Grotto."  
  
"Precisely." Zidane said with a grin. His tactics weren't what amused him, though. He was remembering the special nasty little surprise he had left lying in wait for the Burmecians in the form of their precious Master Gizmaluke. He secretly wondered if anyone had been foolish enough to attempt to fight the sage-turned-psychopath. "So, that leaves them with one place to head to."  
  
"Cleyra…" Fratley whispered at the same time as Zidane spoke it.  
  
"If they escaped to Cleyra, then our task will get more difficult." said Steiner. "That sandstorm protects them."  
  
"If the power of my Mage Soldiers has not impressed you here, I have something else that is sure to amaze you in Cleyra." Zidane hinted with a brief chuckle. "Okay," he said, his mood suddenly changing. "Order your troops to withdraw and converge on Cleyra, and…"  
  
"Yes, my Lord?" Steiner asked.  
  
"Garnet's airship, formerly her late mother's." said Zidane. "I hate to do this, but for what I have in mind, we really are going to require an airship."  
  
Steiner looked grim for a moment, then saluted nobly. "A minor expense to the royal family, is a far more desirable one, than to the expense of a Queen's entire nation, her only life."  
  
"I could'nt agree more." said Zidane, secretly wondering what the hell Steiner had just said.  
  
"I will send word to Alexandria to have the ship sent to us." stated Steiner.  
  
"No need for that." said Zidane. "I will return to Alexandria myself and bring it with me back here, then we'll rendevous with the armed forces in Cleyra."  
  
Steiner mulled it over, then remembered it wasn't his place in lifeto question his betters. He merely saluted, then turned back to his knights. "Tell the other knights to regroup, then gather up all the soldiers and Mages. We're pulling out and heading for Cleyra."  
  
"Yes sir!" the knights chimed in unison, saluted and ran off.  
  
***  
  
Kuja and Blank watched the knights go.  
  
"So they're going to invade Cleyra next." Fratley growled.  
  
"Cleyra?" Blank echoed. "Never been there before. I've always wondered why people call it the 'City of Illusion'."  
  
"Cleyra has remained in isolation for a hundred years." Fratley explained. "If my people escaped to there, they'll be safe, at least for a while. The people of Cleyra are originally from Burmecia. Long ago, they severed ties with Burmecia over a trivial conflict. Now the kingdom is at peace, shielded by a large sandstorm."  
  
"This madness has to end!" hissed Beatrix drawing her sword. "Many more are going to die because of their mis-understanding!" As she spoke, she began to sheath her sword and stand up.  
  
"No!" gasped Kuja, but before they could stop her, Beatrix had already jumped down.  
  
"What the-?" Zidane muttered in surprise. Vivi yelled out, then recognised the woman in front of them.  
  
"Beatrix?!" Steiner gasped in surprise.  
  
"Steiner!" she snapped. "What the hell are you doing?! End this madness! Your reason for this war is fraudulent! The Queen is not here, and she never was!"  
  
"What?" Steiner gasped.  
  
Zidane considered drawing his dagger on Beatrix. From what he knew of her, she was possible the greatest soldier in the world, but if he could take her by surprise… Then again, it might be better to just stand there and watch the scene play out. After all, he remembered Beatrix had followed Kuja and Garnet onto the Prima Vista. Perhaps she may come in useful. Besides, if Garnet and Kuja didn't know about his little deception, why should Beatrix?  
  
"The Queen is not here!" Beatrix repeated. "I should know! I've been escorting her since we left Alexandria. The Burmecians had nothing to do with it! The kidnapping was done by an independent group!"  
  
Before Steiner could reply, Zidane butt in. "Really?" he asked, running a hand through his hair. "Is that them now?"  
  
Beatrix turned, and saw Kuja, Blank and Fratley leap down and rush to her side. Zidane and Kuja stared at each other.  
  
"General?" said Steiner, looking for an explanation.  
  
"Quite the motley crew, wouldn't you say?" said Zidane, smirking. "Tell me, aside from Beatrix, do any look familiar?"  
  
Steiner squinted, staring at Beatrix's group. "…You." he said, recognising Kuja. "You were the one who kidnapped the Queen! I saw you swing onto the airship with her!"  
  
"Right before Beatrix followed, I might add." Zidane pointed out.  
  
"No!" said Beatrix. "I was in persuit!"  
  
"Or is that just what she wanted us to think, Steiner?" goaded Zidane. "Didn't the fact that the Queen was able to be abducted so easily and the aggresors to beat our security not clue you in on what I suspected - that it must have been an inside job! A traitor in our midst! Working with the Burmecian terrorists!"  
  
"How dare you…" Beatrix growled, resting a hand on her sword. Vivi stepped back from Zidane, nervous.  
  
Steiner continued to look at Beatrix's group. There was the criminal Kuja, Zidane had told him about. There was another man, short and elfin-looking with red hair, clutching a sword. Steiner didn't know his name, but recognised his face from wanted posters. And finally, the icing on the cake, in the back, sporting a large spear was what looked like a Burmecian mercenary. Steiner's heart fell. Beatrix… no…  
  
"Tell us!" Zidane snapped. "You kidnapped the Queen, you traitor! Where are you hiding her, Cleyra?"  
  
"That's a lie and you know it!" Beatrix roared. "Steiner, please, believe me! I know where the Queen is, yes, but I played no part in her kidnapping!"  
  
"So what are you doing in Burmecia?" Zidane asked with spite in his voice. Beatrix froze, realising the circumstantial evidence was mounting up against her.  
  
"I…" she tried. "…I…" Instead, she looked imploringly at Steiner, her old teacher, begging him to believe her with just her honest face.  
  
"Sir Steiner, you either believe me, or you believe her." Zidane judged. Steiner looked between them, torn. His lifelong friendship with his prize student, now implicated as a traitor, was going up against his fierce loyalty to both his Queen and his superior. In a situation like this, torn between personal feelings and duty, he let his nature make the decision. Never question orders from a superior. Nobles are born into power, appointed by the gods into a higher station in life. They are your betters, and it is not the place of a humble knight to question them.  
  
"I am sorry, Beatrix." he sighed, meaning every word. "Though I want to, even my own eyes cannot allow me to believe you…"  
  
"Yes." said Zidane, drawing his daggers.  
  
"…No." Beatrix gasped softly. Kuja and the others softly drew their weapons.  
  
"Traitors to the crown must die!" Zidane yelled.  
  
"Crown?!" Beatrix snapped, realising what was going on. Steiner wasn't in charge of this, and never had been! Zidane was leading him on. Zidane was leading the entire nation of Alexandria on! Gods, Steiner, what have you done? "That crown belongs to Queen Garnet! You control our nation falsely!"  
  
"Let's take him down!" Blank yelled, and the battle commenced. Vivi ran, back into the shadows. Beatrix charged on Zidane, but Steiner intercepted her, and they clashed. Neither of them believed they would ever be drawing swords on each other like this, and could hardly even believe they were fighting.Blank backed her up, but Steiner was surprisngly proving capable of handling both of them, since Beatrix was not giving her all.  
  
Kuja and Fratley clashed with Zidane, who was proving to be an unbelievably tough opponent. For one, he was incredibly past, dodging their attacks with lightning speed and delivering his own before they could stop him. Also, he seemed to have similar abilities as Kuja, only more intense and yet controllable. Before long, he had both Kuja and Fratley on their knees, exhausted and hurting. Steiner quickly retreated to Zidane's side, allowing Beatrix, Blank, Fratley and Kuja time to regroup.  
  
They stood as one, and readied themselves to take down Steiner and Zidane in an all-out assault.  
  
"Vivi, Thundara." Zidane requested. There was no reply. He looked to his side to find the little mage gone. Damn! "Vivi! Where are you? I need your help!"  
  
Vivi nervously looked out from his hiding place. Reluctantly, he nervously walked over to Zidane.  
  
"Thundara!" Zidane requested again.  
  
"But…"  
  
"But what?" Zidane asked.  
  
"She claims she knows where the princess is!" Vivi blurted out. "Maybe she's telling the truth? We should listen to her, if finding the Queen is what we want."  
  
"They're attacking us, trying to delay us so their collaborators can get away." Zidane explained in soothing towns. "Please, Vivi, I can't fight them for much longer. Help me with your magic."  
  
Vivi hung his head, then turned towards Kuja's group. They stopped in their tracks.  
  
"Whoa." said Blank. "Hey, nobody said anything about fighting kids! Nuh-uh, not me…"  
  
Before he could continue, Vivi raised his head, streched out his arms and blasted the four of them with an incredibly powerful Thunder spell. Bolts shot between them, puddles in the ground and what was left of the roof. By the time the magic attack dissapated, they were all already on the ground, injured and unmoving.  
  
Nobody heard Vivi whisper "Sorry…" to himself.  
  
"Incredible…" Steiner gasped, then remembered his sadness at discovering Beatrix was a traitor. He looked at her, lying with her head in a puddle, and felt sorry, both for her and for himself. "What should we do with them?"  
  
"Don't worry." said Zidane. "I'll take care of them myself. I'll take them back to Alexandria with me, where they can stand trial. In the meantime, go gather your troops. We leave for Cleyra as soon as possible."  
  
Steiner saluted and ran off. Zidane waited until he couldn't hear the sound of clanking armor any more and turned to Vivi. "You should go with him." Zidane suggested. "Then, when I return, I'll give you that ride on an airship I promised you about."  
  
Vivi nodded and slowly walked away. In truth, he didn't care any more about airships. Now he was really starting to worry about what he had done to those people. He knew it was wrong to suspect his only friend of lying, but there was something in Beatrix's voice Vivi could detect - an honest truth from the heart. And although he had only attacked them to help his friend, he realised then that he had been closer in that moment to the voiceless soulless Black Mages that had taken the city. That saddened him greater than anything else…  
  
***  
  
Fratley's body ached all over, but he was gradually able to open one eye and peer at the diminutive Black Mage, vanishing off in the distance. Then he saw Zidane's foot briefly step in and out of his field of vision.  
  
"Well well." Zidane muttered. "Truth? I'm not taking you back to Alexandria. I still might have a use for you all, just yet. If I were you, I'd use as many Heal spells as you can, and start running to Cleyra."  
  
He stepped over Blank, who was unconscious with few mild burns, but otherwise fine. Zidane rolled Beatrix over, to check that she was still breathing. Of course she was. She had learned some incredibly powerful Seiken spells. Surely her body was capable of resisting much stronger attacks. So, that just left Kuja…  
  
"It's been a while." Zidane muttered, kneeling down in front of the albino assassin. "Do you remember me?"  
  
Kuja stared at him, trying, but unable to speak. "You don't, do you?" Zidane chuckled. "Then you don't even remember who and what you really are? That's so funny. I'd pity you, if I didn't know how much you deserved it. But still, thanks for taking care of Garnet." He patted Kuja's cheek in a mock display of falsetto friendship. "I'll see you around, 'Angel of Death'."  
  
With that, Zidane stood up, ignoring the raindrops bombarding them all. He gave them all one last look, then walked away, vanishing into the shadows. Eventually, his footsteps vanished from hearing, and he was gone. They lay there, cold, hurting and bathing in the rain. Immobile, but alive. Kuja tried to get back on his feet, but instead collapsed, and lay there, unconscious.  
  
As ever, the rain continued to fall.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~* 


End file.
